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Armenia’s Ambassador to Italy Victoria Baghdasaryan hailed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the country’s parliament as an input into efforts to prevent genocides and crimes against humanity, the Armenian Embassy in Rome said on Facebook.

Italy’s lower house of parliament – the Chamber of Deputies – on Wednesday approved a motion calling on the government to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and elevate the profile of the issue on an international level. The bill was approved with 382 votes in favor, none against and 43 abstentions.

In a speech before the parliament, the Armenian envoy expressed gratitude to all the political forces represented in the Chamber of Deputies for backing the measure.

“We express special thanks to the author of the initiative, member of the ruling League party Paolo Formentini and its 34 co-authors, as well as all those parliamentarians who supported the initiative in their speeches,” she is quoted as saying by the embassy.

The diplomat stressed that by paying tribute to the Armenian Genocide victims, the Chamber of Deputies stressed that what was committed against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire over a century ago was a genocide.

“With this step, Italy reaffirmed its commitment to the universal human values, contributing to the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity,” she said.