On September 27, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan delivered a speech at the meeting of the Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations group, which was held during the high-level part of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

In his speech, referring to regional challenges, Vahan Kostanyan noted that despite the peace agenda promoted by the Armenian government, hate speech and misinformation campaigns seriously undermine Armenia's efforts to achieve peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that the spread of hate speech, racial and ethnic hate crimes, and their glorification create fertile ground for discrimination and human rights violations. Parallel to such actions, the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage is taking place, examples of which the international community has witnessed in the region and beyond.

Emphasizing Armenia's commitment to promoting the prevention agenda, Vahan Kostanyan informed that on December 12-13, Armenia will organize the 5th Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide, which will focus on ways to increase the effectiveness of early warning and response mechanisms for genocide and other crimes.

The Deputy Foreign Minister also referred to the "Yerevan Dialogue" international forum held on September 9-11, during which the role of interreligious dialogue in promoting tolerance, mutual understanding, and human rights was discussed, as well as the importance of protecting cultural heritage in the culture of peace.