On April 24, 2025, communities around the globe commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide—a solemn occasion that transcends remembrance to a call to action. In 1915, at the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Young Turks orchestrated the systematic extermination of approximately 1.5 million Armenians. In formulating the Genocide Convention in 1945 in response to the Holocaust, attorney Raphael Lemkin drew directly on the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which he recognized as the very blueprint for the crime he would name “genocide.”
Systemic Annihilation and the 20th Century’s First Genocide
In the waning decades of the Ottoman Empire, a campaign of escalating brutality unfolded against its Armenian Christian population—whose only crime was to seek dignity, equality, and the right to live as full citizens, free from the degradations of second-class status and religious persecution. Between 1894 and 1896, under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the Ottoman regime carried out the Hamidian Massacres, killing an estimated 300,000 Armenians. These atrocities were a brutal response to Armenian calls for reform and protection from abuse, revealing the regime’s willingness to use mass violence against its Christian minority.
In 1909, during the brief constitutional interlude under the Young Turks, the Adana Massacre resulted in another 20,000 Armenian Christian deaths. Hopes for a democratic, pluralistic Ottoman society quickly gave way to rising Turkish nationalism and a policy of ethnic homogenization.
Over the following years, 1.5 million Armenians were systematically annihilated—what scholars and many governments around the world widely recognize as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Beginning on April 24, 1915, the Young Turk regime — Mehmed Talaat Pasha, Ismail Enver Pasha, and Ahmed Djemal Pasha — launched the most brutal phase of their campaign: the systematic deportation, massacre, and starvation of the Armenians and Christians in the former empire. In a single night, 235 Armenian leaders—clergy, lawyers, intellectuals—were arrested and executed in Constantinople (today’s Istanbul). Men across Anatolia were conscripted under false pretenses, then slaughtered. With villages emptied of men, women and children were driven into the desert to die by starvation, exposure, or execution. Countless women were trafficked, raped, forcibly converted, or made to bear children who were then taken and assimilated into Turkish, Islamic society. Over the following years, 1.5 million Armenians were systematically annihilated—what scholars and many governments around the world widely recognize as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Denial is Permission: The Armenian Genocide and Human Rights
Geoffrey Robertson, the distinguished British barrister and human rights advocate, has argued that the Armenian Genocide holds the key to unlocking the future of human rights—shedding light on where our efforts must go today to confront the many evolving forms of dehumanization. In his book An Inconvenient Genocide: Who Now Remembers the Armenians?, Robertson asserts that acknowledging and understanding the Armenian Genocide is crucial for advancing human and civil rights today. He argues that the failure to recognize this genocide has impeded the development of international legal standards aimed at preventing such crimes. Conversely, the persistent denial and erasure of the Armenian Genocide have emboldened perpetrators of later atrocities, sending a dangerous message: that one can commit mass violence and escape accountability. As Adolf Hitler chillingly remarked on the eve of his invasion of Poland in 1939, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” Denial is not silence—it is permission. It paves the way for repetition by normalizing impunity.
As Adolf Hitler chillingly remarked on the eve of his invasion of Poland in 1939, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
Lack of Accountability is Deadly
Denial is deadly because it enables and condones future atrocities by normalizing impunity and signaling to perpetrators that they can commit mass violence without consequences. Robertson’s insights resonate deeply with leaders, diplomats, and legal professionals committed to combating human trafficking, promoting democracy, and affirming human dignity. The Armenian Genocide serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of indifference and denial. It underscores the necessity of confronting uncomfortable truths to build more just and humane societies around the world.
The genocide’s legacy is not confined to history books; it reverberates in contemporary struggles against mass atrocities and systemic oppression. The international community’s initial failure to respond effectively to the Armenian Genocide set a precedent that emboldened future perpetrators. As Robertson and numerous genocide and human rights intellectuals have noted, the lack of accountability for these crimes has had a lasting impact on the enforcement of human rights and the advancement of violating human dignity globally.
Why should you care about the Armenian Genocide Today?
For those engaged in the fight against human trafficking and advancing protections for human rights, the lessons of the Armenian Genocide are particularly pertinent. Both involve the dehumanization of individuals and the erosion of moral and legal norms. Holding the perpetrators of genocide accountable reinforces our commitment to human dignity and strengthens the imperative to confront systems that enable exploitation and abuse.
As we commemorate this somber anniversary, we are called to reflect on our collective responsibility to prevent future atrocities. This involves not only honoring the memory of the victims but also committing to the principles of justice, responsibility, and accountability. It requires us to confront denialism and to support efforts that seek truth, justice, and reconciliation.
The Armenian Genocide teaches us that the defense of human rights is an ongoing endeavor that demands vigilance, courage, and empathy. By acknowledging past injustices, we lay the groundwork for a future where justice, dignity, and freedom are safeguarded for all, especially for minorities.
To conclude in the words of Geoffrey Robertson, acknowledging and understanding the Armenian Genocide is essential to advancing the global struggle for human and civil rights; without learning from this history, we risk repeating its darkest chapters in the present. May the 110th anniversary of the Genocide serve as a catalyst for renewed commitment to these ideals, ensuring that the lessons of the past inform our actions today and shape a more flourishing future for human beings around the world.
Further Readings:
- Robertson, Geoffrey. 2014. An Inconvenient Genocide: Who Now Remembers the Armenians? London: Biteback Publishing.
- Watenpaugh, Keith David. 2015. Bread from Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism. University of California Press.
- Morris, Benny, & Dror Ze’evi. 2019. The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey’s Destruction of Its Christian Minorities, 1894–1924. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Guroian, Vigen. 1991. “Armenian Genocide and Christian Existence”. CrossCurrents, 41(3), 322–342. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24459946.
- Wegner, Armin T. Photographs of the Armenian Genocide. https://www.armenian-genocide.org/education.html and http://www.genocide-museum.am/eng/armin_wegner.php.
Ani Shahinian, D.Phil./Ph.D., is the Assistant Professor in Armenian Christian Art and Theology, at St. Nersess and St Vladimir’s Theological Seminaries in New York. Shahinian holds a doctorate in History and Theology from the University of Oxford. Shahinian is driven and inspired by people. She has had a lifelong curiosity in people across cultures, societies, languages, and time. Her journey to explore the depth of the human soul has taken her across many countries and degrees in the fields of human rights, criminal law, philosophy, theology, history, religion, and politics. Her insights continue to develop a more holistic understanding of what it means to be a human person in today’s world.
