YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Head of the Human Rights and Rule of Law Department at the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina–Christopher Harland–delivered a lecture entitled "Accountability for Genocide and War Crimes-Examples from Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia" at the American University of Armenia on July 17.
Harland pointed to the fact that international courts and judicial bodies were established to deal with criminal proceedings after the massive killings in central Africa and the Balkans during the 1990s.
In response to the possibility of criminal proceedings concerning the Armenian Genocide–Harland noted that such deliberations might not be feasible given the amount of time that has passed since the act and the fact that none of the perpetrators are still alive.
However–he added that the political work by Diasporan communities towards gaining recognition of the genocide is effective and should continue.
OHR is responsible for the coordination of the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.