The Hague — 03.11.2025
The Republic of Western Armenia continues its legal revival strategy on the international stage. Its diplomatic mission in France has officially submitted a memorandum to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the United Nations Secretariat, demanding the initiation of a process aimed at recognizing the legal continuity of the historical Armenian state and examining Germany’s responsibility for the genocide committed against the Armenians in 1894-1923.
1894-1923.
This step is an important stage for that political entity built on legal foundations, which substantiates its existence with international law documents adopted after the First World War, in particular with the Treaty of Versailles, the decisions of the Peace Conference, the Treaty of Sèvres, President Wilson’s arbitration award and the judgments of the Ottoman military courts of 1919.
“Our step is not only symbolic or commemorative in nature, but it is a legal, documented and diplomatic process. A right does not disappear just because it has been violated,” declares Armenag Aprahamian, President of the National Council of Western Armenia.
Reasoned arguments in modern legal theories
The arguments put forward are based on three key elements:
- Political and legal continuity: Western Armenian lawyers believe that the historical Armenian state has never been legally replaced in international acts that concern the rights of the Armenians of Western Armenia.
- Rights of indigenous peoples: According to the 2007 UN Declaration, the Armenians of Western Armenia are presented as indigenous peoples who are deprived of their territory, protection and rehabilitation rights.
- International responsibility for genocide: The initiative joins the mechanisms of global justice that have been applied in the case of similar historical cases, such as in Namibia or the Rohingya issue.
Test for a multilateral system
Although the reaction of international organizations is still restrained, some experts see this step as a precedent in unresolved issues of international law.
“The Armenians of Western Armenia are opening a sensitive topic: the issue of delayed or suspended implementation of international obligations,” notes a specialist in post-Ottoman law.
“This could become a precedent in the legal assessment of unreconstructed historical genocides.”
A weighted diplomatic message
- The officially submitted memorandum, accompanied by a diplomatic note, does not contain military or coercive demands. It proposes:
- to launch an official trilateral dialogue (UN, Germany, Armenian representatives of Western Armenia),
- to establish an international legal assessment mechanism,
- to form a group of experts in the field of transitional justice and the rights of indigenous peoples.
The Republic of Western Armenia aims to harmonize its actions with the long-term standards of modern legal diplomacy.
Analysis
This initiative is part of a broader process that concerns the recovery of historical issues that were frozen during the 20th century. In the modern world, where demands for the rights of indigenous peoples have become more active and the role of international legal responsibility for mass crimes has increased, this Armenian initiative can become a touchstone for a multilateral international system.
To be continued