UN DOES NOT AVOID DISCUSSION OF EVENTS OF 1915 NOT CALLING THEM GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net - «My position does not allow me evaluating the events of 1915, however it does not mean I avoid these evaluations,» Juan Mendez, Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, stated answering a question why he does not qualify the massacre of Armenians as a genocide. In his words, as a UN representative, he has to express the position of that organization. «However, as a private person I have not studied the events of 1915 enough and it is hard to me to define them,» Juan Mendez added. «My mandate provides for discussion of issues of prevention of genocides in the future and I cannot accentuate a specific event,» he emphasized. At that he added that the fact that the UN does not call the events of the past century a genocide does not mean that the organization avoids discussion of the issue. The UN is a structure that includes many countries and all UN members should come for it giving a specific evaluation for the UN to do it. Juan Mendez welcomed the UN passing a resolution referring to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on 20 April. Armenia has authored the resolution. In Juan Mendez's words, the adoption of the resolution evidences the UN is interested in preventing future genocides.