YEREVAN—The Office of Youth Affairs of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau hosted the Black Sea Area Committee Meeting of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) from September 23-26, 2022.
There were 13 delegates from five different countries present, including IUSY secretary general Bruno Goncalves and IUSY vice president and ARF member Sarineh Abrahamian. The ARF Youth delegation consisted of Syune Gevorgyan and Kevork Ghazelian from Armenia and Vahagn Khachatryan from Artsakh.
Representative of the ARF Supreme Council and “Armenia Alliance” MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan delivered the welcoming remarks at the meeting, assessing the role of the IUSY and the importance of the meeting in today’s difficult conditions of Armenia. Participants reported on the challenges faced by their countries and organizations, especially on the work carried out in the direction of protecting human rights. The role of youth in the process of voicing this significant problem was also emphasized.
The delegation and the chairmanship of the IUSY visited the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex and the Yerablur Military Pantheon.
The committee meeting had a full agenda that took over the duration of three days. A number of important meetings were held in Yerevan and Goris with the participation of ARF Bureau member Giro Manoyan, Artsakh Republic human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan, “Armenia” Bloc parliamentarians Anna Grigoryan, Aspram Krbeyan, Arthur Khachatryan and lawyer Ruben Melikyan. During the meetings, the origins of the Artsakh conflict, brief reports on the outgoing decades and the current negotiation process were discussed and presented.
Clear evaluations were given about the aggressive policy of Azerbaijan toward the Republic of Artsakh in 2020 in connection with the unleashed war, the gross violations of human rights that continue to this day, the unpunished war crimes and the invasion of the sovereign territory of Armenia.
The IUSY not only stands for human rights, but also stands with the people of Artsakh and their right to self-determination,” stated Goncalves.
“Our position is that the right of ethnic Armenians to self-determination should be respected,” added IUSY vice president and Palestinian Fateh Youth Movement member Saif Aqel. “We have also appealed to the United Nations International Organization with a request to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and respect the rights of people living in this territory.”
The ARF Youth Delegation of the committee meeting, addressing the situation in Armenia and Artsakh in the last two years, presented their work aimed at overcoming the security challenges and the current political and socio-economic situation.
The meeting stressed that the implementation of international law and fundamental human rights on impartial and equal terms is a necessity.
The IUSY currently has 145 member organizations from over 100 countries around the world. The ARF Youth is a full member.
