Author of UN Report Confirming The Armenian Genocide Passes Away

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Commentary
Author of UN Report Confirming
The Armenian Genocide Passes Away
By Harut Sassounian
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Benjamin Whitaker, author of a United Nations report qualifying the
Armenian mass killings as genocide, passed away earlier this month at
the age of 79 in London. The world lost a great humanitarian and a
staunch supporter of minority rights.
I worked closely with Mr. Whitaker at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland,
for several years. He served as the British expert on the
Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities, while I represented the Indigenous World Association, a
Native American non-governmental organization (NGO).
Mr. Whitaker was an activist lawyer, elected to the British Parliament
from North London in 1966. He became executive director of the
Minority Rights Group in 1971, publishing dozens of studies on
minority groups around the world, including a trailblazing report on
Armenians.
In 1975, Mr. Whitaker was appointed as British representative on the
UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities, in the midst of a major controversy regarding a reference
to the Armenian Genocide in a UN study. Rwandan Special Rapporteur
Nicodeme Ruhashyankiko, author of the preliminary study, was pressured
by Turkey to delete the reference to the Armenian Genocide.
To counter the Turkish pressures, a handful of Armenian activists,
including this writer, successfully lobbied the UN Sub-Commission in
1978 to block the report after the reference to the Armenian Genocide
was removed. I then asked Mr. Whitaker if he would be interested in
becoming a Special Rapporteur to complete Ruhashyankiko's aborted
report. Mr. Whitaker agreed on condition that he would not do seek any
votes for his appointment.
Given his impeccable reputation as a human rights activist, the
Sub-Commission members overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Whitaker as the
new Special Rapporteur with a mandate to prepare a `revised and
updated report on the question of the prevention and punishment of the
crime of genocide.' The only unhappy delegate was Turkey's UN
representative who knew that his government's intimidating tactics on
Mr. Ruhashyankiko would not work on Mr. Whitaker.
In August 1985, Mr. Whitaker presented to the UN Sub-Commission the
revised and updated report, qualifying the Armenian Genocide as an
example of genocide in the 20th century. After lengthy debates, Turkey
failed in pressuring the Sub-Commission to delete the reference to the
Armenian Genocide. By a vote of 14 in favor, one against, and four
abstentions, the Sub-Commission adopted the report, thus confirming
that the Armenian Genocide met the UN criteria for genocide.
Since then, Turkish denialists have engaged in blatant lies, claiming
that there was no such vote and no such UN report! They even alleged
that Farhan Haq, spokesman for the UN Secretary General, had told
Turkish groups back in 2000 that the UN had `never approved nor
supported a report that describes the Armenian experience as
`genocide.'' I contacted Mr. Haq who told me that he was indeed aware
of the report adopted by the UN human rights body which referred to
the Armenian Genocide. He had simply told the Turkish groups that the
UN General Assembly had not adopted a report on the Armenian Genocide.
Unfortunately, there has been very little effort by Armenians to
publicize this critical UN report which acknowledges the Armenian
Genocide. More surprisingly, in his UN General Assembly address in
2000, Pres. Kocharian called upon the UN to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. The President's aides had not informed him about the UN
Sub-Commission report of 1985!
Since our UN days, I had the distinct pleasure of being in the company
of Mr. Whitaker on several occasions. In the late 1980's, we were both
invited to Argentina by the local Armenian National Committee to
deliver a series of lectures on the UN and the Armenian Genocide. In
2009, Mr. Whitaker kindly attended my presentation at the British
Parliament on the Armenian Genocide and made gracious remarks about
our past collaboration at the UN.
The Armenian Republic and Armenian communities worldwide should
organize a fitting tribute to Mr. Whitaker, as 2015 is not only the
Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, but also the 30th anniversary of
the adoption of the UN genocide report.
There are three other members of the UN Sub-Commission who were
extremely supportive during the adoption of the genocide report and
who are still alive: Leandro Despouy of Argentina, Louis Joinet of
France, and Mrs. Erica Daes of Greece. Despouy has already been
decorated by the President of Armenia. Joinet and Daes deserve similar
recognition by Armenia and the Diaspora!