EAFJD

The EAFJD just concluded its Youth Leadership Academy in Brussels, where our participants spent five days engaging in a dense agenda focused on European institutions and Armenian advocacy. This group gained firsthand experience in parliamentary diplomacy through a series of high-level meetings and lectures. 🏛️ The program featured key meetings at the European Parliament with MEP Farandouris and MEP Nacho Sanchez to discuss the inner workings of the highest elected body in Europe. 🇪🇺 Our participants also attended a briefing at the Belgian Federal Parliament to understand domestic political influence on foreign policy and Armenian issues. 🇧🇪 Expert lectures provided deep insights into International Law alongside sessions highlighting the current state of EU-Armenia relations. ⚖️🇦🇲 We are proud of the engagement shown by these future leaders and celebrated the week with a closing ceremony and the awarding of certificates at Hay Dun, the Armenian Cultural center in Brussels

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, international lawyer Karnig Kerkonian (@kerkonian), speaking on behalf of Christian Solidarity International (@CSI_humanrights), raised the situation of the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on March 16.

🇦🇲 ARMENIA: The government has issued *criminal charges* against the Catholic of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II. The government has also placed a travel ban on the Catholics, preventing him from leaving the country for a church assembly planned to be held in Austria this week. The Catholicos is charged with "obstructing a judicial act," because he participated in the defrocking of one of the church's bishops. Under international human rights law, the church is protected from this kind of state interference in its internal affairs. So far, six other bishops are under travel bans, and four bishops are in prison, along with around two dozen supporters of the church, all on manufactured or spurious charges. The arrests are part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's campaign to seize control of the church. CSI stands in solidarity with the Catholicos and with the Armenian Apostolic Church against this state persecution. Below see an emergency report from the Armenian Center for Political Rights about this case.

On February 10, key MEPs—including the Chairs of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus—issued a joint statement regarding the recent sentencing of Armenian detainees in Baku, once again calling for the immediate release of all Armenian hostages held in Baku. europarl.europa.eu/delegations/en…

The Armenian Center for Political Rights has published an urgent report concerning the ongoing campaign by the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to interfere with the autonomy of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. The report outlines the international legal standards governing the autonomy of religious organizations, which the Armenian authorities are obligated to observe. During the aforementioned campaign, the State, represented by the Prime Minister, security bodies, other officials, and now also the courts, has repeatedly interfered with the AAHC's autonomy across multiple domains. These interferences have manifested both in the denial of the Church’s and its individual members’ freedom of expression and other rights, and in attempts to influence internal affairs and liturgy. In light of the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights, Arman Saroyan, as well as other clergy calling for “reform” of the Church, do not enjoy a right to express dissent within the religious community. In the event of disagreement, their freedom of religion is exercised through the option of freely leaving the community. If members of a religious organization, namely the holders of ecclesiastical office, do not enjoy such a right, it follows a fortiori that ordinary followers of the Church cannot claim it either. Nevertheless, Prime Minister N. Pashinyan, has advanced demands for the replacement of the Catholicos, basing his claims on presenting himself as such a follower․ The appointment to or removal from the office of diocesan primate lies solely within the discretion of the Catholicos, through which the Church’s beliefs are expressed and its religious traditions maintained. The State possesses no authority to require that such religious responsibilities be entrusted to any particular individual. Further details regarding the applicable legal standards, references to relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the report’s conclusions and recommendations, are available in the urgent report at the following link. drive.google.com/file/d/1b_vl_g…

BREAKING: Posts published on X (former Twitter) by the official accounts of the U.S. Vice President and his press secretary about the visit to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex were deleted shortly after being posted. The message was later reposted by his press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, with the words “Armenian Genocide” removed. J.D. Vance became the highest-ranking American official ever to pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex. The U.S. Vice President and his wife visited the memorial dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. Judging by the photographs, they were not accompanied by senior Armenian officials during the visit, and Nikol Pashinyan was not present. Vance was received by Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Zhanna Andreasyan, and the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Armenia, David Allen. He laid a wreath at the Genocide Memorial, after which the guests placed flowers at the Eternal Flame and observed a minute of silence in memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide. At the conclusion of the visit, Vance left an entry in the Book of Honor of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, writing: “In solemn remembrance of the lives lost, we honor the resilience and enduring spirit of the Armenian people. May America and Armenia strive for a future of peace and understanding together.”

Nagorno Karabakh leaders convicted by Azerbaijan in a sham trial. They are civilians trialed before a military court a total violation of basic human rights. If they are considered combatant the charges are wrong, they could not be charged for ordinary crimes like terrorism. After the sham trial against Nagorno-Karabakh leaders, who are victims of ethnic cleansing and genocide, EU commission could not continue ignoring Azerbaijan violations of human rights in order to obtain an overpriced oil.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) @PACE_News has adopted a new resolution: "It exhorts the authorities of Azerbaijan to end retaliatory prosecutions and to release immediately all those detained on politically motivated charges, including 23 Armenian detainees". #FreeArmenianHostages

The @eafjd has raised concerns over escalating tensions in Syria, warning that Turkey’s continued interference is undermining stability and urging all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for civil and cultural rights. armenianweekly.com/2026/01/24/eaf…

Today's hostage swap demonstrates Azerbaijan's continued use of hostage diplomacy to extract political concessions from Armenia. At least 19 Armenians remain captive in Azerbaijan, where they continue to face torture and abuse, are denied their fundamental legal rights, and are subjected to sham trials based on their Armenian identity. Azerbaijan must not be granted cover or impunity for its ongoing detention and abuse of Armenian prisoners. The ANCA calls on the Trump Administration to expand efforts to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining Armenian prisoners, and urges Congress to pass the ARMENIA Security Partnership Act (H.R.6840) and the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act (H.R.5369) to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its war crimes and human rights violations. #FreeArmenianPrisoners #StopAliyev

Prime Minister Pashinyan is in Moscow attending the CIS informal summit and is once again holding meetings with Russian leadership, who just recently increased their threats against members of the European Commission. Who is acting like a proxy now @kajakallas @MartaKosEU ? news.am/eng/news/92167…

Today is Lyudvig Mkrtchyan’s birthday. But it’s not a happy birthday. Lyudvig should be celebrating his 56th birthday with his family and friends. Instead, he has spent 1,872 days in Aliyev’s captivity. He was captured by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on 20 October 2020 in the territory of Fizuli region. This innocent man is now unjustly serving a 20-year prison sentence on fabricated charges. We are fighting for Lyudvig and all of the 23 hostages back home. #FreeLyudvig #FreeArmenianHostages

On the 29th and 30th of November, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy organized its bi-yearly convention with its European chapters in Almelo, Netherlands.

125th Anniversary Commemoration of Raphael Lemkin - UK Parliament youtube.com/watch?v=lF-ne1…

🇳🇴🇦🇲 Sven-Erik Rise is Norwegian expert of Armenia, an author of articles and op-eds about the country and the Armenian genocide in Norway’s national and local newspapers. He also has published two books — Hayastan – Why I love Armenia (in Norwegian and English) and 44 days in Artsakh(in Norwegian). Rise has led numerous public lectures about Armenia for varied audiences. Following our Nobel Peace Prize campaign, Sven has prepared a video message in which he describes how the secret process is taking place in Norway. Sven says that in the event of the release of the Armenian hostages and real peace, the Norwegian people will support Trump’s candidacy, but the obstacle to all this is clearly Aliyev. Thank you for standing by our hostages! #FreeArmenianHostages #NobelPeacePrize

Online discourse about today’s prayer breakfast in Yerevan has been overwhelmingly critical. Comments have primarily focused on Armenian PM Pashinyan cynically staging this event to somehow distract from his escalating attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church.✝️