LOS ANGELES, CA –The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region (ANCA-WR) announced today its sponsorship of the upcoming conference on genocide being hosted by the International Human Rights Law Association at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The conference, entitled “Genocide and Then What? The Law, Ethics, and Politics of Making Amends” features a soon to be released report regarding the legal and ethical foundation for reparation claims stemming from the Armenian Genocide. The event will take place at UCLA’s Dodd Hall Auditorium on Saturday, October 23rd and is scheduled from 11:00am-5:00pm.

The featured report was authored by genocide and legal scholars Professors Alfred De Zayas, Jermaine McCalpin, and Henry Theriault as well as former Ambassador Ara Papian. In addition to presenting the report, the event will feature panels exploring Armenian Genocide reparations in the broader contexts of human rights violation reparations, the ethical foundations, the political implications, and real property determinations for reparations.

The Armenian Genocide reparations report is unique in that it is first effort to provide a comprehensive legal and ethical exploration of the issue. While recent court cases have dealt with individual victims’ property cases related to Armenian Genocide, the report provides an outline of the legal basis for a political process for reparations as a means of justice for this crime against humanity.

With the continued development of reparations studies related to the Holocaust and more recent genocides such as those in Rwanda as well as in response to human rights injustices closer to home, including African American slavery and the Native American genocide in the United States, this conference also takes a look at the issue of Armenian Genocide reparations in this broader context.

De Zayas is former senior lawyer with the Office of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chief of Petitions. McCalpin is a specialist in long-term as well as transitional justice. Papian is a former member Armenia’s diplomatic corps, previously serving as its Ambassador to Canada and is an expert on treaty history and law. Theriault is a specialist in the ethics of reparations for crimes against humanity.

In hosting “Genocide and Then What? The Law, Ethics, and Politics of Making Amends”, the International Human Rights Law Association is building on the UCLA School of Law’s established reputation as a leader in international human rights and justice issues.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.