38th FIDH Congress
23-27 May 2013
Istanbul (Turkey)
Proposed by Civil Society Institute (Armenia), Human Rights Association and Turkish Foundation for Human Rights (Turkey)
Following the resolution of the 37th FIDH Congress held in Yerevan, Armenia in April 2010 and as a result of the endeavours of the human rights NGOs from Armenia and Turkey that was started during the Yerevan Congress,
Considering the unwavering historical position on the issue of the Armenian genocide, and the most welcome progress recently made in Turkey to facilitate open, unimpeded discussion about this issue;
Considering the numerous appeals made by the Turkish civil society including political figures, NGOs, academics, Intellectuals, Journalists, etc. for establishing truth and justice on the Armenian genocide;
The 38th FIDH congress, held from 23 to 27 May 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey:
calls upon the Government of the Republic of Turkey, on the eve of 100th anniversary of the genocide and in commemoration of its victims, to:
· recognise the Armenian genocide organised and executed by the Young Turks Government under the Ottoman Empire in the beginning of the 20th century; · stop blockading the Republic of Armenia without any preconditions and initiate immediate steps towards establishing diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.