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Bay Area
Armenian National Committee |
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The
Bay Area
Armenian National
Committee (ANC-SF) is a grassroots public affairs organization serving to
inform, educate, and act on a wide range of issues concerning Armenian Americans
throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
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United
Nations War Crimes Commission Report
May 28, 1948
United Nations Economic and Social Council
Commission on Human Rights
Report Prepared by the United Nations War
Crimes Commission
In Accordance with the Request Received from
the United Nations
Restricted — E/CN.4/W.20 — 28 May 1948
Information Concerning Human Rights Arising
from Trials of War Criminals
II. Developments during the First World War
1. The Massacres of the Armenians in Turkey
In connection with the massacres of the
Armenian population which occurred at the
beginning of the First World War in Turkey,
the Governments of France, Great Britain and
Russia made a declaration, on 28 May 1915,
denouncing them as "crimes against humanity
and civilization" for which all the members
of the Turkish Government would be held
responsible, together with its agents
implicated in the massacres. The relevant
part of this declaration reads as follows:
"En presénce de ces nouveaux crimes de la
Turquie contre l'humanité et la civilisation,
les Gouvernements alliés font savoir
publiquement à la Sublime Porte qu'ils
tiendront personnellement responsables des
dits crimes tous les membres du Gouvernement
ottoman ainsi que ceux de ces agents qui se
trouveraient impliqués dans de pareils
massacres."
As will be shown later in more detail, the
warning given to the Turkish Government on
this occasion by the Governments of the
Triple Entente dealt precisely with one of
the types of acts which the modern term
"crimes against humanity" is intended to
cover, namely, inhumane acts committed by a
government against its own subjects.
...The first peace treaty with Turkey,
namely, the Treaty of Sèvres, signed on 10
August 1920, contained in addition to the
provisions dealing with violations of the
laws and customs of war [Articles 226-228
corresponding to Articles 228-230 of the
Treaty of Versailles] a further provision,
Article 230, by which the Turkish Government
undertook to hand over to the Allied Powers
the persons responsible for the massacres
committed during the war on Turkish
territory. The relevant parts of this
article read as follows:
"The Turkish Government undertakes to hand
over to the Allied Powers the persons whose
surrender may be required by the latter as
being responsible for the massacres
committed during the continuance of the
state of war on territory which formed part
of the Turkish Empire on the 1st August,
1914."
"The Allied Powers reserve to themselves the
right to designate the Tribunal which shall
try the persons so accused, and the Turkish
Government undertakes to recognize such
Tribunal."
"In the event of the League of Nations
having created in sufficient time a Tribunal
competent to deal with the said massacres,
the Allied Powers reserve to themselves the
right to bring the accused persons mentioned
above before such Tribunal, and the Turkish
Government undertakes equally to recognize
such Tribunal."
The provisions of Article 230 of the Peace
Treaty of Sèvres were obviously intended to
cover, in conformity with the Allied note of
1915 referred to in the preceding section,
offenses which had been committed on Turkish
territory against persons of Turkish
citizenship, though of Armenian or Greek
race. This article constitutes therefore a
precedent for Articles 6c and 5c of the
Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters, and offers an
example of one of the categories of "crimes
against humanity" as understood by these
enactments.
The Treaty of Sèvres was, however, not
ratified and did not come into force. It was
replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne, signed
on 24 July 1923, which did not contain
provisions respecting the punishment of war
crimes, but was accompanied by a
"Declaration of Amnesty" for all offenses
committed between 1 August 1914, and 20
November 1922. |
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