The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting all people of good will to join a prayer day for Armenia on 10 November, the day before the opening of the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan. The WCC will organize a local prayer service in St Pierre Cathedral, Geneva on 10 November at 5pm CET in collaboration with the Armenian community.
WASHINGTON—A new informal coalition of individuals and organizations opposed to Azerbaijan’s past genocide — and determined to prevent the next one it has promised to mount against Armenia — has launched a multimedia campaign to boycott Baku. The immediate focus is to raise awareness about past, present and prospective Azeri crimes against humanity and to discourage international attendance at and sponsorship of the 29th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP29), scheduled to be held in Azerbaijan’s capital from November 11-22, 2024.
We welcome the European Parliament’s resolution of October 24, 2024, on the “Situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law, and relations with Armenia,” which exposes Azerbaijan’s appalling human rights record, disregard for international law and aggressive, militaristic posturing in the region and toward Armenia.
Azerbaijan continues to put finishing touches on Baku ahead of the COP29 international climate conference. Host governments treat the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference much like they treat the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup: Not only do they rake in tourist dollars as delegates and visitors pack hotels and five-star restaurants, but they also rebrand themselves for the international audience.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has sent best wishes to the Armenian American community on the occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day.
“While we celebrate, we must also never forget the Armenian Genocide, when an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths. It is a tragedy that continues to shape the identity of the Armenian people. The Armenian American community’s resilience remains a source of inspiration in our collective American story,” Harris said.
“I remain committed to a lasting peace between Armenia and its neighbors that respects sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity,” the Vice-President noted.
Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance and Trump campaign supporter Vivek Ramaswamy tweeted statements aligning with U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s condemnation of the persecution and displacement of Armenian Christians in Artsakh.
FIRST IN PI: The south Caucasian country of Azerbaijan recently asked Washington lobbyists that it was considering working with to not register under FARA for work they considered necessary to register for, two people who they asked told Daniel.
As the UN Climate Summit (COP29) is set to be held in Baku starting on November 11, it is becoming increasingly clear that Azerbaijan should not have been allowed to host such a prestigious gathering. In addition to Armenian protests about ethnic cleansing and the illegal detention of Armenian prisoners in Baku, there have been worldwide objections about the Conference being held in Baku because of Azerbaijan’s flagrant and persistent violations of human rights.
When the nations that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change decide who will host the annual climate conference, the criteria include a country’s infrastructure, climate commitments, political stability and financial resources. But not democracy or human rights — or, apparently, whether blessing a particular regime with the privilege will embarrass the organization and the climate diplomats it assembles. The result is repeated instances of “greenwashing” some of the world’s most repressive rulers and most enthusiastic extractors of fossil fuels.