Resolution Condemning Blockade of Artsakh Led by Armenian Caucus
Armenian Caucus leaders; Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), David Valadao (R-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA) are spearheading a resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh); calling on the United States Government to “work swiftly with international partners, including authorities in Artsakh, regarding the deployment of international observers to the Lachin Corridor and Artsakh to explore opportunities for more effective and sustainable guarantees of security and peaceful development.”
The resolution states that “President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has used vitriolic rhetoric to call for the ethnic cleansing of indigenous Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and his regime has consistently violated important international humanitarian legal agreements during the 2020 war and up until the present date, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Charter, and the Geneva Convention.”
The resolution also calls on the “President to immediately suspend any new, current, or pending military or security assistance from the United States to Azerbaijan,” to fully enforce section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, and supports US sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the blockade of Artsakh and other well-documented human rights violations committed against Armenians in the region.
“We thank Members of Congress for their outpouring support for Artsakh and their insistence the US Administration to do more on reopening the Lachin corridor.” stated Armenian Council of America Board Chairman Sevak Khatchadorian. “Seeing the clear intent of the Azerbaijani dictatorship to create a humanitarian crisis, the Administration must cease all military or security assistance to Azerbaijan, enforce section 907, and sanction Azeri regime officials responsible for human rights violations committed against Armenians in the region.”
“We urge member of Congress to co-sponsor the resolution.’ concluded Khatchadorian.
The draft resolution can be read here.
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