Statement delivered by the delegation of Armenia at the 1563rd meeting of the OSCE PC on the 81st Anniversary of the Victory over Nazism in the Second World War

Mr. Chairperson,

Victory Day remains a defining milestone in human history, marking the defeat of Nazism and the emergence of a new international order grounded in the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter.

The Armenian nation made a significant contribution to this victory. Although Armenia itself was not a battlefield, the Republic lost 14 percent of its population, a proportion commensurate with casualties on a number of territories directly invaded by the Nazis. Approximately 500,000 Armenians served in the Soviet Army. Of them, 107 were awarded the highest honor of Hero of the Soviet Union. 83 Armenian officers had achieved the rank of general, and five reached the highest military rank of Marshal and Admiral. Among them, Marshal Hovhannes Baghramyan commanded one of the fronts on the battlefield.

In addition, nearly 100,000 Armenians served in the armed forces of the Allied Powers and took part in resistance movements and guerrilla warfare across Europe. The French-Armenian resistance fighter Missak Manouchian was interred in the Panthéon in Paris, becoming the first foreign Resistance member to receive this distinction.

It is no coincidence that the generation which endured the atrocities of the twentieth century also laid the foundations of the modern international system aimed at preventing wars and mass atrocities. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948, was the first human rights treaty of the United Nations. It was followed shortly thereafter by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Subsequent landmark documents, including the Helsinki Final Act, further reinforced this framework. They all share a common objective of preventing the recurrence of such calamities. The OSCE itself is a product of these collective efforts.

While the international community is still far from fully realizing the promise of "never again," and while effective mechanisms to prevent conflicts and wars remain insufficient in many parts of the world, no alternative multilateral system has emerged besides the one that we have built. If it did not exist, we would have to create it. It is therefore our shared responsibility to preserve, consolidate and improve this system, to honor our commitments, to uphold the principles that underpin our collective pursuit of peace and security.

In doing so, we pay the most meaningful tribute to the victims and to the legacy of the victory over Nazism.

Thank you.