On December 9, His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, received Luis Moreno Ocampo, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
During the meeting, Luis Moreno Ocampo informed His Holiness about the raising of the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh in connection with the COP29 global climate summit organized in Azerbaijan, the activities carried out towards the release of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan, and the results recorded. In this regard, Luis Ocampo noted the importance of the prayer of Christian Churches and structures on the eve of COP29, in response to the call of the Armenian Patriarch, for the return of captives to the Armenian Church and the initiative of a general prayer dedicated to Armenia.
His Holiness appreciated the efforts made by Mr. Ocampo to protect the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh and raise awareness of the genocidal actions of Azerbaijan, using his experience and authority in the field of international law. In this regard, the Armenian Patriarch confirmed that the Armenian Church is also doing its utmost on international, inter-church, and inter-religious platforms to address the issue of Azerbaijan’s occupation of the sovereign territories of Armenia, the protection of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh deprived of their homeland, the issues of Armenians held in captivity and missing, as well as the preservation of the spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh.
The interlocutors also exchanged views on the worrying events unfolding in the region and the Middle East.