From the very
start of this war, Garo Ghazarian and Karnig Kerkonian Co-Chairs of the
Armenian Rights Watch Committee (ARWC), prominent Armenian lawyers in the
United States, have been with us every day since 27 September 2020.
Mr. Ghazarian is
based in Los Angeles and Mr. Kerkonian, in Chicago.
Throughout the
war, they played an unparalleled role in protecting human rights in Artsakh and
Armenia, by assisting the Human Rights Defenders in Armenia and Artsakh in
compiling, monitoring, reporting, documenting and analyzing war crimes by
Azerbaijan, and by cultivating strong ties with international human rights
organizations in the United States and other countries. Thanks to their
efforts, cooperation was fostered with other Armenian organizations in the
Diaspora too, they being the bridge between the Armenian Diaspora, on the one
hand, and Armenia and Artsakh, on the other.
Mr. Ghazarian and
Mr. Kerkonian, through their dedicated efforts and true professionalism, have
raised and continue to raise public awareness through the Armenian Bar
Association of the United States about the hostilities, the true objectives of
the Azerbaijani authorities, including Azerbaijani war crimes and crimes
against humanity committed in Artsakh and Armenia.
During this time,
they also led a series of widely-broadcast public discussions not only on legal
matters related to the war, but also on its geopolitical and historical
implications. Thanks to their devoted public activities and engagements, not
only the Armenian Diaspora, but also the international community, was
accurately informed about the war. Their efforts and contributions have been
simply invaluable.
Me and Mr. Artak
Beglaryan, the Human Rights Defenders of both Armenia and Artsakh have never
been made to feel by Garo Ghazarian and Karnig Kerkonian, that the amount of
support we need from them is enormous, whether we are calling upon them for
complex professional analysis of human rights and humanitarian law or for the
translation of our reports and statements into English. Despite their own
professional workloads, their complex law practices and work, and the huge time
difference in their core working hours in the United States, their response
time to our requests was not so much as delayed by a few minutes, and more
often then not they responded within seconds.
To this day, Garo
Ghazarian and Karnig Kerkonian continue to support us by providing their
assistance around the clock in all human rights matters and issues (i.e.
official letters to international bodies, follow-up work on the return of
prisoners of war, recording of Azerbaijani war crimes, and a host of other
issues).
It is especially
important that they, as long-time practicing lawyers in the United States,
utilize their practical knowledge and experience to support us.
They are our
partners, and as partners, they also did absolutely the same selfless service
during our crisis in April of 2016, during July of 2020, and indeed during all
other periods of hostilities and crisis in years past.
The role of these
Co-Chairs of the Armenian Rights Watch Committee is also invaluable in
improving the human rights system in Armenia.
In particular,
every public gathering, rally or protest, every police action or use of force,
children and women’s rights, the rights of servicemen, or any other human
rights issue, has always been subject to their immediate focus.
Each time, through
public feedback and professional analysis, they have immensely helped the Human
Rights Defender of Armenia to find the right solutions to those problems and to
settle those solutions in accordance with international best practices. In
their customary and frequent visits to Armenia and Artsakh, they have devoted their
time to the discussions of important human rights issues with an aim to
identify and seek solutions.
Moreover, Mr. Garo
Ghazarian and Mr. Karnig Kerkonian continue to undertake all these measures to
protect the rights of Armenians in other countries of the world as well, from
the Middle East to Europe, from South America to the United States of America
and other countries.
Our
Armenian-American partners also provide active teaching and training in the
United States, Armenia and Artsakh. For example, Garo Ghazarian has been the
Dean and a law professor at a School of Law in California for 22 years, and has
in the past also lectured on criminal procedure and investigation for the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Karnig Kerkonian has taught international
law at Artsakh State University and, during this war, filed a lawsuit on behalf
of Artsakh and Artsakh civilians in the US Federal District Court in Washington
DC.
Importantly, Mr.
Ghazarian and Mr. Kerkonian also have conducted a legal course for the staff of
the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, especially in connection with practical
issues of human rights protection during the investigation of criminal cases as
well as regarding legal writing to international institutions, commensurate
with their vast litigation backgrounds and their international experience.
They have played a
significant role in the 2017 establishment of a law clinic at Artsakh State
University and with the training of legal specialists in that clinic with
advanced law practice standards.
I express my
sincere gratitude to our esteemed colleagues who continue to spare no effort
and energy, especially during this difficult post-war period, in matters
pertaining to the protection of the rights of our compatriots.
Their support over
the years is a genuine example of what cooperation between Armenia and Artsakh
and the Diaspora should be like.
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