Ottawa – Today, the Armenian National Committee of Canada joins with all Canadians in celebrating International Human Rights Day and in marking the 68th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on Genocide.
As an organization that has been at the forefront of human rights advocacy and genocide awareness, The ANCC is committed to upholding the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and end all human rights abuses around the world.
Throughout its years of activism and advocacy, the ANCC has collaborated extensively with partners in the Canadian government and Parliament, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, a wide variety of cultural communities and a diverse group of non-governmental organizations to safeguard the values of respect, tolerance and equality that are treasured in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Today, we recommit ourselves to the unwavering belief that all human beings, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and background shall be empowered with equal and inalienable rights while believing that the steadfast advancement of those rights will ultimately make the world safer and more prosperous for us all.
On this day, we call upon the international community to stem all acts of violence and human rights abuses around the world and specifically in Sri Lanka, Syria and Iraq, where as a part of the ongoing conflicts, religious and ethnic minorities continue to be targeted and mercilessly persecuted. While we commend the Canadian government’s decision to recognize the atrocities being faced by the Yezidi minority in Syria and Iraq, we urge the government to remain vigilant and attentive to the humanitarian call of those who remain deprived from the fundamental rights we enjoy as Canadians.
As we decry the ongoing repression and violence in Syria, Iraq, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, we stand resolute in our fight against injustice and reinstate our commitment to our shared values of respect, tolerance and justice.
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.