Each April 24, in events staged around the world, ethnic Armenians and human rights campaigners rally for Turkey to recognize its culpability in the 1915 mass-murder of 1.5 million Armenians.New York Times: House Panel Raises Furor on Armenian Genocide (October 11, 2007) Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day protests are also used to exert pressure on governments beside Turkey to officially recognize the tragedy as a genocide.

U.S. Congress has yet to officially recognize the genocide—and although President Obama supported such a measure during his 2008 campaign, he has not been vocal on the issue while in office. During an April 6 address to Turkish parliament, Obama referred to "the terrible events of 1915" and urged both Turkey and Armenia to address history in an "honest, open" manner, but did not use the word "genocide."WhiteHouse.gov: Remarks by he president to Turkish Parliament (April 6, 2009)

Recognition efforts have been especially contentious in the US, UK, Israel, and other nations with strategic ties to the Turkish government. In October, 2007, a Congressional bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide was withdrawn, reportedly due to concerns that it would complicate the US/Turkish alliance in the Iraq War. A similar resolution was introduced to Congress in March 2009, but has yet to come to a vote.