August 23, 2012 (released August 23, 2012)

WASHINGTON, DC -- The recently announced expansion of the Armenian National Institute (ANI) website introduced a new section documenting the extent of press coverage and discussion of the Armenian Genocide over the course of the past decade. As part of this expansion, the section documenting the growing trend of international affirmation of the Armenian Genocide has also been updated.

The Affirmation section reflects recent municipal, state, and federal level recognitions from around the world. In the United States, 43 states are on record through legislative enactments and gubernatorial proclamations or statements. This list now includes: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

With 174 official documents posted supporting the record of affirmation by the states listed above, another 50 posted official enactments attest to the extent of international affirmation of the Armenian Genocide with 21 countries formally on record. To facilitate navigation of the growing list of international recognitions, a summary page listing the countries in alphabetical order is provided:

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, and Venezuela.

For a more complete picture of the extensive U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide beyond the massive historical and official documentation from 1915, the following should be consulted: the Written Statement of the Government of the United States of May 28, 1951, to the International Court of Justice; the 1975 and 1984 House resolutions; President Ronald Reagan's Proclamation of April 22, 1981; and the first superior court case, that of the District of Columbia, United States Court of Appeals, Krikorian, Appellant, v. Department of State, Appellee, of January 29, 1993, which addresses the question about the apparent reversal of U.S. policy on its own historic record that lies at the initiation point of the renewed efforts to squarely affirm the American acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide.

With over 300 official documents provided, the ANI website contains the largest and most comprehensive record on governmental acknowledgments of the Armenian Genocide. They are organized into 12 categories for easy identification: Court Cases; Curriculum Mandates; Heads of State; International Organizations; Municipal Governments; Official Reports; Public Petitions; Resolutions, Laws, and Declarations; States and Provinces; Treaty of Sèvres; Turkish Military Tribunal; U.S. Presidential Statements.

Official records will be added to the ANI website as they become available.

Founded in 1997, the Armenian National Institute (ANI) is based in Washington, DC, and is dedicated to the study, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

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