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  1. Foreign Policy
  2. Main Issues
  3. Controversy between Türkiye and Armenia about the Events of 1915
  4. Statements by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, on April 9, 2007, and on May 8, 2019 about the UN position on the “Armenian genocide” allegations
Statements by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, on April 9, 2007, and on May 8, 2019 about the UN position on the “Armenian genocide” allegations

Excerpt from the daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on May 8, 2019

Question: And my last question is, does Secretary‑General Guterres mention in any way the first genocide of twentieth century, Armenian genocide, during this time period? Thank you.

Deputy Spokesman: Well, what we can say about that is, of course, we understand that commemorating and remembering tragic events in history and continuing to deepen the historical understanding about what happened should strengthen our collective determination for prevention. We at the United Nations need to continue all our efforts to prevent conflict and human suffering where possible, not only for our generation but also for the youth of today, so that our generations of the future can live in peace. 


Excerpt from the daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on April 9, 2007

Question:  Is it not the case that Turkey complained about a specific item [in the Rwandan genocide exhibition planned to be displayed in the UN General Assembly lobby] that had to do with the Armenian genocide, or so-called genocide?

Associate Spokesperson:  Yes, that did come up.  That wasn’t the sole issue, that wasn’t the sole reason for…

Question:  What other reasons were there?

Associate Spokesperson:  There were other concerns about other contents.  You know, there were a number of contents that needed to be reviewed.  But there were other concerns about other things.  As for Armenia, in any case, the UN hasn’t expressed any position on incidents that took place long before the United Nations was established.  In any case, the focus during the anniversary of the Rwandan genocide should remain on Rwanda itself.