Just moments ago, the California Senate Appropriations Committee took up AB 1915, the Armenian Genocide Education Act.  

ANCA WR Legislative Affairs Director, Haig Baghdassarian testified on behalf of the organization in support of the bill providing historical background both on the Armenian Genocide as well as California’s unwavering commitment to recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Below is the full transcript of Baghdassarian’s testimony.

The bill, joint-authored by Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian and Katcho Achadjian, requires the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the list of studied subject areas for the adopted courses of study in Social Science for 7-12, recommends for the Department of Education to include the atrocities of 1915 into publications and curriculum materials, and encourages the incorporation of an oral history component into the teaching of human rights, and genocides, including the Holocaust, Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.  

STATEMENT OF HAIG BAGHDASSARIAN, ANCA WR