The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a motion to recognize April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day within the county.
Introduced by Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda Solis, the motion condemned the Turkish government for continuing to deny the genocide despite overwhelming historical evidence.
The Armenian Genocide, recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century, was the systematic extermination of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1916. Approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed through massacres, forced deportations, starvation, and exposure during death marches to the Syrian desert. This atrocity aimed to eliminate the Armenian presence from their ancestral homeland and is a central event in Armenian history.
The motion also referenced recent acts of ethnic cleansing against Armenians. In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a military attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), followed by a 10-month blockade of the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor. In 2023, more than 100,000 Armenians were forcefully displaced from their ancestral lands, according to the motion.
“This Board has consistently called on the federal government to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan for its continued human rights violations and to demand the immediate release of Armenian hostages held captive by the Azerbaijani government,” the motion reads.
On April 24, 2021, President Joe Biden officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.
“This was a historic victory for the Armenian diaspora, achieved through decades of tireless advocacy,” the motion states.
“However, recognition alone is not enough. We must remain vigilant in the face of ongoing threats to the Armenian people and reaffirm our commitment to preventing genocide, defending human rights, and ensuring that history is never rewritten or erased.”
The Board also directed the County CEO to promote events and distribute educational materials to raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide.
Los Angeles County is now home to the largest Armenian diaspora outside of Armenia.
