LOS ANGELES, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) announced today that United States Congressman Ed Royce (R-40) would be honored at the 2005 ANCA-WR Annual Banquet with the organization’s coveted Human Rights Champion award for his principal role in human rights issues, including his forthright stance on the Armenian Genocide. The award will be presented to Representative Royce at the ANCA-WR’s gala event on September 18th at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles.

Rep. Royce, who is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, has been a strong supporter of issues of concern to the Armenian American community throughout his seven terms in Congress. Most recently, Congressman Royce cosponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution with Rep. George Radanovich (R-19). Rep. Royce has hosted the ANCA Armenian Genocide Observance on Capitol Hill during his tenure in Congress, which annually draws hundreds of Armenian Americans from across the country. The Congressman has persistently written the President of the United States urging him to use the term “genocide” when making his annual April 24th address and to help end the blockade of Armenia by Turkey. For his efforts, Congressman Royce was honored by the ANC-Orange County Chapter in 2004.

“Congressman Royce is a strong human rights defender,” said Steven Dadaian, Chairman of the ANCA-WR Board of Directors. “He not only supports a just resolution for the Armenian Genocide, but also understands that without the re-affirmation of the facts of this tragedy, atrocities will continue to occur around the world.”

Rep. Royce has a strong history of public service. In 1982, he was elected to the California State Senate where he began his fight for victims’ rights and has continued this fight in the Halls of Congress since his election in 1992. He serves as a senior member of two key committees in the House: the International Relations Committee and the Financial Services Committee.

As a member of the International Relations Committee, Congressman Royce serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, Vice-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, and a member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. From 1998 to 2004, Rep. Royce chaired the Africa Subcommittee. During his tenure, he held some 70 hearings examining a wide range of issues of importance to Africa and the U.S., and shepherded several legislative initiatives and numerous resolutions affecting relations between the U.S. and Africa. Hearings in 2004 included confronting war crimes in Africa, reflecting on the Rwandan genocide, the current genocide in Darfur, and peace prospects in Sudan, the Ivory Coast and the Congo. Rep. Royce has led several Congressional delegations to numerous African countries, including his most recent trip to observe the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

The ANCA-WR Annual Banquet regularly draws over 700 individuals, including a long list of dignitaries, such as prominent Members of Congress and state legislators, as well as a vast number of Armenian American community leaders and political activists. The annual event is the largest of its kind and helps raise funds to operate the nation’s largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots and political advocacy organization. More honorees are to be announced in the coming weeks before the annual banquet.

For more information on this year’s ANCA-WR Annual Banquet, or to reserve a table, call the ANCA-WR office at (818) 500­1918.

The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues.