April 23, 2021

Elizabeth Warren Statement on Recognizing the Armenian Genocide

Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement following reports that the Biden Administration plans to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide.

"I commend President Biden's decision to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide. Calling this atrocity what it was -- genocide -- is long overdue because we must recognize the horrors of the past if we hope to avoid repeating them in the future. This is an important human rights moment. President Biden pledged to put human rights back at the core of U.S. foreign policy, and I applaud this affirmation. On the upcoming 106th anniversary of this tragedy, I join the Armenian American community in Massachusetts and the rest of the Armenian diaspora in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, honor and remember the lives taken, and celebrate the survivors and their families for their years of of organizing and advocacy that achieved this hard fought recognition."

Senator Warren has a history of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. In March 2021, she joined her Senate colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging him to take this action. In October 2020, she joined her Senate colleagues in a letter to the Library of Congress urging it to adopt a formal change to its subject heading to acknowledge the genocide. She cosponsored the bipartisan Senate resolution ensuring the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning the Armenian Genocide, and celebrated the historic passage of this resolution in December 2019. In 2015, the Senator delivered remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of this atrocity in Armenian Heritage Park in Boston, along with other members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation and local residents.

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