March 6, 1979

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 14 -- Relative to Armenian oppression.

(Filed with the Secretary of State March 6, 1979.)

Resolution Chapter 11

WHEREAS, The State of California, as well as the federal government, has repeatedly gone on record in support of human rights around the world; and

WHEREAS, One of the most outrageous denials of human rights has occurred in the on-going persecution of Armenians; and

WHEREAS, The genocide of Armenians is a well-documented fact, with 1,500,000 Armenians massacred during the years 1915-1918 alone; and

WHEREAS, The Armenians in some countries must daily endure acts of oppression, such as denial of their basic human rights, confiscation of their churches and schools, and punishment for speaking their native language openly; and

WHEREAS, A key paragraph outlining the Armenian massacres has been deleted from a United Nations Report on Genocide, effectively supporting claims that no such massacres ever occurred; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, and the Armenian Rights Movement, Western Region, are demanding that the United Nations recognize historical reality and restore Paragraph 30 to its Report on Genocide prepared by its Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, by the Assembly and the Senate of California, jointly, That the Members of the Legislature of the State of California join with the thousands of Armenian Americans in this state in strongly urging the United Nations to make its Report on Genocide historically accurate by restoring to the report Paragraph 30 which outlines the Armenian massacres; and be it further

Resolved, That the Members of the Legislature of the State of California join with the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, and the Armenian Rights Movement, Western Region, in expressing support for and strongly urging the recognition of basic human rights for Armenians around the world; and be it further

Resolved, That the Members of the Legislature of the State of California request that the United States Ambassador to the United Nations communicate the contents of this resolution on behalf of the people of California to the members of the United Nations; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the Secretary of State, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the Chairman, senate Foreign relations Committee, to the National Security Council members, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.