U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Adopts Measure Calling on Azerbaijan to Release Armenian Hostages

WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Wednesday, July 22, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) took an important bipartisan step in support of Armenia and all prisoners of conscience by adopting an amendment that calls on the Republic of Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war and political detainees.

Introduced by Congressional Armenian Caucus Vice Chair Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), the amendment was adopted by an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of 44–7. HFAC Chairman Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) supported the measure. The amendment was added to the House Foreign Service Act and formally places the Committee on record opposing Azerbaijan’s continued detention of Armenian hostages.

The amendment acknowledges that the release of Armenian hostages is an essential humanitarian obligation and a necessary step for establishing a just and lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Representative Sherman emphasized that Armenian captives have been subjected to unlawful imprisonment, mistreatment and abuse in Azerbaijani prisons.

Although the amendment must still survive further legislative consideration before becoming law, its adoption represents a meaningful, bipartisan acknowledgment by the U.S. Congress that Armenian hostages cannot be treated as political bargaining chips. It also reinforces American efforts to hold the Azerbaijani regime accountable for their 2023 military offensive on, and ethnic cleansing of, Nagorno Karabakh, while ensuring that human rights remain a central component to U.S. engagement in the South Caucasus.