Demands for Armenian Genocide reparations

Demands for Armenian Genocide reparations refer to the restitution for the damage caused on the Armenian nation due to the Genocide of 1915 committed by Ottoman Empire. Those could be of financial, estate or territorial nature alike, and may be claimed individually or collectively as well as by the State.
Professor of International Law of Geneva School of Diplomacy (J.D. - Harvard, Dr.phil. - Göttingen), former Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee and former Chief of Petitions at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dr. Alfred de Zayas stated:
The grounds of the International Law
The United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law provide in part:
While current members of Turkish society cannot be blamed morally for the destruction of Armenians, present-day Turkish Republic, as successor state to the Ottoman Empire and as beneficiary of the wealth and land expropriations brought forth through the genocide, is responsible for reparations.
The aftermath of the Armenian Genocide
Apart from the one to one and a half million deaths, Armenians lost all their wealth and property and received neither compensation nor reparations. Businesses and farms were lost, and all schools, churches, hospitals, orphanages, monasteries, and graveyards became Turkish state property. Some of the life insurance policies were written as early as 1875, but were not paid after the Genocide. Around 1918, the Turkish government attempted to recover for the people it had killed with the argument that there are no identifiable heirs to the policy holders.<ref name="Reparations"/> The settlement provided 20 million dollars, of which 11 million was for heirs of the Genocide victims.<ref name="Reparations"/>
See Also
Armenian Genocide
Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany
Further reading
 
< Prev   Next >