Document
It is my honour to welcome you as the first of the two hosts of this conference: Welcome to Switzerland, welcome to the city of Berne, the federal capital of Switzerland. Probably this is your first visit to Bern, because this city is not as well known as Geneva, Zurich or Basel as a venue for international conferences, even though by the way it is also home to international organisations such as the international postal, telegraph, railway and copyright associations.
Rather, Bern and Switzerland are known in international politics for their efforts to promote peace and reconciliation through their – so called – good offices. This is one reason why we chose Bern as the venue for this conference; the other is that Bern is home to the headquarters of the Protestant Church in Switzerland which was founded in 1920 as a federation of the reformed and methodist churches. Bern fits well with the topic that has brings us together here: ‘Religious freedom – Preservation of Armenian religious, cultural and historical heritage in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. For both political and social actors as well as for our churches, the issue of Armenia has been an important topic for more than 130 years. Let me briefly explain why the issue of Armenia is of particular concern to us among the many other hot spots in world politics. This will also say something about why we as a church are committed to this conference.
What is the reason for the Swiss churches' commitment to Armenia?
Armenians have been present in Switzerland since the mid-19th century, and the community has since grown to around 5,000 people. In the second half of the 19th century, Switzerland became involved in helping the Armenian population in what was then the Ottoman Empire, notably through the Basel Mission. Since the end of the 19th century, the Reformed churches in Switzerland and the Swiss people have been involved on a large scale and in many different ways in helping Armenians, whose persecution intensified in the 1890s.
In 1896, half a million signatures were collected for a petition calling on the Swiss Federal Council to intervene diplomatically with the major European powers. This call was launched by the Swiss Relief Committee for Armenia, which shortly afterwards opened orphanages and clinics in Sivas and Urfa (in present-day Turkey). The terrible fate of the Armenians was met with deep concern in Switzerland.
Over the years, a veritable wave of solidarity developed in Switzerland.1 Relief organisations were set up in French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland. Funds were collected for the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The Swiss deacon Jakob Künzler was one of the most important eyewitnesses in the run-up to and during the genocide, who tried to draw the attention of Switzerland and the international powers to the catastrophe. Together with others, he also saved many people from death and brought them to Syria and Lebanon, where orphanages were subsequently established.
Since then, we have enjoyed a partnership with both the Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Evangelical churches. Worthing to mention here the charitable Armenian-Swiss foundation Armenofas, under the authority of His Holiness Arman I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.
Why we are still involved today?
Even after the terrible genocide, which stands as an unimaginably cruel beacon at the beginning of the horrific and inhumane catastrophes of the 20th century, Armenia's fate continued to be marked by hardship and the struggle for survival. I would just like to remind you of the events of the last twenty years: Since 2014, Azerbaijan has repeatedly attacked Armenian positions in and around the disputed region of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. In April 2016, the situation escalated into the so-called Four-Day War: Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive in which hundreds of soldiers on both sides were killed before a ceasefire was agreed.
In 2018, tensions flared up again, partly due to domestic political changes in Armenia. The situation finally escalated dramatically in autumn 2020 when Azerbaijan launched a comprehensive military offensive. A ceasefire brokered by Russia in November 2020 ended the fighting. Since then, the conflict remains unresolved and continues to harbour potential for escalation. This demonstrates that the security situation in Armenia, like that of the Armenian population in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh, has always been very precarious to the present day.
Personally, I witnessed the dramatic days of the attack on Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 during my visit to Armenia together with a delegation of church leaders from the World Council of Churches who had made a solidarity visit to Armenia. Just as we were approaching by car the Lachin Corridor to travel to Stepanakert in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, we witnessed the military operation carried out by the Azerbaijani army in the Armenian-populated region, which had previously been starved and oppressed for a long time. This led to the flight of over 100,000 Armenians from the area where they had lived in self-determination for thousands of years.
While still there, on the street to Artsakh, I called on our Federal Council to take decisive action within the framework of its UN mandate. Swiss foreign policy, like the international community, must also be more decisive in its efforts to find a peaceful solution and ensure compliance with international law in the case of Armenia.
Our church therefore fully supported the corresponding demands made by the Swiss National Commission for Justice and Peace on 8 May 2024 to the Federal Council and Parliament.
And I am grateful that since then, various initiatives have been taken in our Parliament in this direction and that politicians are actively committed to peace in the region and exert influence on the government. In spring, the Parliament instructed the Federal Council to launch a peace initiative for Artsahk/Nagorno-Karabakh within a year. To support this initiative, a committee comprising 18 members of Parliament was formed whose inaugural event took place last Monday here in Bern. I very much welcome this initiative, which is completely independent of our conference and which is supported by Christian Solidarity International.
At this point, I would also like to mention that I am grateful that some of our member churches have pledged considerable funds for emergency aid after September 2023 and that our Swiss church aid HEKS/EPER was able to respond quickly.
Our Church, because of its past involvement, was happy to accept one year ago the invitation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) to host this high-level international conference, which I now have the honour of opening. In doing so, we have also responded to your request, Your Holiness, to host such a conference. We are connected not only by the history I have just described, but also by our membership in the WCC fellowship. The WCC has a mandate to express the concerns of its members in situations of conflict and distress and to act on their behalf. We are committed to mutual compassion and solidarity.
What I hope to gain from this conference
The preservation of the Armenian religious, cultural and spiritual heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh is still under threat. Since the invasion by the Azerbaijani army, there have been reports of systematic destruction of cemeteries, places of worship and other religious sites. We cannot be indifferent to this.
I am aware that religious freedom and other human rights of other religious and ethnic minorities are also at risk in certain contexts, in other parts of the world. We do not wish to ignore this and have therefore made a conscious effort to include other perspectives in this conference.
I am delighted to be standing before such a large and distinguished audience, ho regrettable the occasion may be. All of you with your expertise and experience will all contribute to the success of this conference. We would like to express our gratitude to you for accepting our invitation.
However, I would like to take this opportunity to express my disappointment that neither UNESCO nor the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs nor the Vatican accepted our invitation to participate in this conference. We very much regret that, for various reasons, they do not wish to express their views here. The preservation of cultural heritage is one of UNESCO's main tasks. According to its constitution, Switzerland is committed to the peaceful coexistence of peoples and respect for human rights, and the Vatican is an important moral voice in the world.
This joint conference organised by the WCC and the PCS brings, together experts, historians, church leaders, political actors and leaders of the international organisations to observe, examine and take action. It is intended to send a clear signal that further destruction and expulsion without any prospect of return will not be tolerated and that urgent action is needed on the part of international organisations and the global community. All participants and speakers at this conference are called upon to consider what they can contribute. – Thank you.
Rev. Rita Famos,
president of the Protestant Church in Switzerland
