WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, led by Co-Chairs Chris Smith (R-NJ) and James McGovern (D-MA), held a hearing on “Human Rights in Azerbaijan Since the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh,” coinciding with the one-year anniversary of Azerbaijan’s military assault on the entirety of Artsakh, on Thursday, September 19, 2024. This marked the Commission’s third such hearing this Congress.
“We want to especially thank Co-Chairs Jim McGovern and Chris Smith, and the entire Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, who kept the focus on the ongoing genocide of indigenous Christian Armenians as well as the shameful trend of deteriorating human rights globally,” said Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian.
Co-Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ) shared remarks on the “human rights violations committed by Azerbaijan” and the importance of the U.S to “do far more than it has done to try to mitigate the horrific ongoing pervasive human rights abuses committed by Baku.”
“This is the one-year anniversary of the fall of Artsakh, and all of us grieve over what has happened in plain sight with very little pushback by the international community, including the US,” continued Rep. Smith. “Very few Armenians remain in Nagorno-Karabakh, but we are concerned deeply for the political prisoners and prisoners of war held by the government of Azerbaijan.” Rep. Smith also highlighted the high priority of protecting Armenian cultural heritage and upholding the right of return for the Armenians of Artsakh.
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Commission Member Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) noted that the hearing was an “opportunity to continue to shed light on the violations of the injustices that have been taking place for years as a result of Azerbaijan’s government and its president.”
“The government of Azerbaijan must be held accountable for its crimes and violations of human rights…including ethnic cleansing and forced displacement,” continued Rep. Costa, who emphasized that the U.S. Administration needs to “double its efforts” with the peace process.
“America’s ability to continue to be the beacon of light and standing up for human rights throughout the world must be a constant,” said Rep. Costa. “We must continue to be on the side of Armenia and the Armenian people.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said that he personally saw Azerbaijan’s “encroachments” and “heard the stories from those forcibly extracted” when he traveled to Armenia with the Helsinki Commission. He stated that he was “disturbed” by the destruction of cultural heritage, as well as Turkey refusing their airplane from flying over their airspace because they were coming from Armenia.
“This is a NATO ally, and we are traveling on a U.S. government airplane, and a NATO ally refused us air space because we had visited Yerevan,” said Rep. Harris. “We have to deal with that…because it seems our lengthiest relationship with an ally is the one that is betraying our trust.”
He concluded it was “clear” that there was “complicity” among Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan regarding Nagorno-Karabakh and that they “all had a hand to play.”
BROAD RANGE OF WITNESSES UNDERSCORE REPRESSION IN AZERBAIJAN
The Commission heard from a broad range of witnesses, which included: Gegham Stepanyan, Former Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, who testified on the genocidal policies and crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh; Professor Adam T. Smith, Co-Director of Caucasus Heritage Watch, Cornell University, who testified on Azerbaijan’s record of deliberately targeting Armenian cultural heritage; Kate Watters, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Crude Accountability, who provided testimony on the human rights issues and corruption in Azerbaijan and its hosting of the upcoming COP29; Sharmagh Mardi, Supervising Lawyer at the Center for Truth & Justice, who testified about the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenian people of Artsakh and her collection of over 500 eyewitness testimonies; and Andrea J. Prasow, Executive Director of Freedom Now, whose testimony focused on the suppression of human rights activists in Azerbaijan.
Watters stated that the Aliyev regime is “rife with corruption,” and there has been an increasing crackdown on civil society activists and journalists “who speak in opposition to authorities using fabricated charges and violating rights of those arrested, such as using torture and inhumane treatment.”
She reported that Azerbaijan “regularly detains those it seeks to silence” and currently has 303 political prisoners in custody, which is 49 more than last year.
“The numbers are appalling,” said Watters. “Azerbaijan is party to numerous international human rights treaties… that prohibit the use of torture” yet there are credible records of torture, particularly in police custody where authorities use abusive tactics.
She stated that there is “extensive documentation” from internationally known organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as numerous media reports that focus on cases of “arbitrary detention and mistreatment taking place over the last year that provide insights into the scale of human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and the scope of inhumane illegal and violent treatment of civil society and journalists that is occurring.”
Prasow read a statement from human rights activists from Azerbaijan – who could not attend and could not use their names – individuals targeted by the Aliyev regime for their activism.
“The human rights situation in Azerbaijan is dire,” she read. “Azerbaijan is an authoritarian regime for over a decade that has used laws and judicial system to restrict and contain civil society.”
She continued: “Azerbaijan has accelerated its oppression as it approaches COP29 in November…as peace activists have been arrested and charged with treason.”
“So far actions have not impeded Aliyev’s regime, and more serious actions must be taken in order for Azerbaijan to release political prisoners and relax its grip on civil society, including targeted sanctions,” concluded Prasow. “Otherwise, we fear more of our friends will see the inside of a prison.”
Professor Smith stated that the role of archaeologists is to “provide a voice for the irreplaceable remains of the human past” and to “stand against heritage abuse.”
He emphasized the importance of human rights to culture and that “attacks on heritage monuments are not just violence against buildings, but against a people and their collective identity.”
Professor Smith noted that Caucasus Heritage Watch has documented the fate of Armenian cultural heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh and determined 14 destroyed sites including historic cemeteries and churches, 12 significantly damaged sites, and 31 in immediate threat of destruction, and stated that there is “deep concern for what is going on in Nagorno-Karabakh from the perspective of archaeologists.”
“The real need is amplification,” said Professor Smith. “The world community needs to be aware of the heritage destruction, and there needs to be a reputation cost that undertakes to revise the historical record through obliteration of archaeological and historical monuments.”
In his testimony, Stepanyan shared that he has personally witnessed and experienced “Azerbaijan’s systematic genocidal policy,” and was forcibly displaced from his ancestral lands, while serving as a documentarian of “horrific crimes against humanity.”
“I was a human rights defender who could not go to the people whose rights I was meant to protect,” he said in reference to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor in December 2022. “I saw with my own eyes how people, including over 30,000 children were living in cold conditions without gas.”
“I tried to tell the world as much as possible hoping to break down the wall of indifference that had been created against the Artsakh people who were driven by despair and chaos while forced to leave their homes,” stated Stepanyan, who emphasized that genocide was occurring in front of everyone’s eyes, while Azerbaijan “erased all remnants of Armenian traces from Artsakh.”
As Azerbaijan continues to illegally detain Armenian hostages and prisoners of war, Stepanyan said the Aliyev regime is “not being held accountable for the ongoing crimes” and instead is allowed to organize prestigious events like COP29.
“Today the people of Nagorno-Karabakh continue to face numerous challenges,” said Stepanyan, who proposed ensuring proper international support for forcibly displaced persons from Artsakh and targeted sanctions against Azerbaijan “for its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and war crimes committed against them.”
Mardi shared stories of victims of Azerbaijan’s crimes against humanity, and noted that in the room were several of those victims, who she referred to as “warriors for justice” who have the “courage to come forward with their truth.”
She spoke about Rev. Fr. Hrant Hovannisian, who protected the ancient Dadivank Monastery and its artifacts for 44 days while surrounded by Azerbaijan’s troops as he held communion. He had no choice but to leave when a bomb fell into his home and he was severely injured.
“With stitches in his torso and back, he left for safety, without food, water, or medicine, and traveled over 35 hours with his family to escape to Armenia,” said Mardi. “Today, despite Azerbaijan’s goal of destroying all Armenian heritage and removing Armenians from their lands, he stands in defense of Armenian culture, church and religion.”
Mardi shared additional stories about a woman who lost her son, the child of a hostage still being held in Baku without due process, and a woman whose sister was tortured, mutilated and murdered.
“Azerbaijan must be held accountable otherwise they will continue to commit violence without impunity,” said Mardi. “Today, for the first time in history, Nagorno-Karabakh stands devoid of Armenians, and I urge the U.S. government and international community to take decisive action and hold Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes against humanity.”
Assembly Co-Chair Van Krikorian testifies before the Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
ASSEMBLY CO-CHAIR VAN KRIKORIAN TESTIMONY
Framing the Armenia and Azerbaijan conflict as one between democracy and authoritarianism, Krikorian offered 10 public recommendations for actions to address the situation and reverse course of the downward spiral. His testimony delved into the ethnic cleansing of Armenians, the destruction of cultural heritage sites, and the continued illegal imprisonment of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives by Azerbaijan.
Emphasizing the “ongoing pattern of deteriorating human rights in Azerbaijan and Turkey [that] are well-established,” Krikorian offered at the outset support to all political prisoners and victims in those countries, regardless of ethnicity or religion, noting that “the pattern of sham elections in Azerbaijan, most recently this month, confirms that Azeri citizens deserve better.”
He referred to a new poster exhibit that conveyed some of the atrocities and graphic evidence that are on record of Azerbaijan’s brutal treatment of Armenians. He noted that most of the evidence on social media comes from Turkish and Azeri sources themselves, who boasted about their violence.
“All of the evidence is of genocidal intent and of genocidal actions,” said Krikorian. “Aliyev and Erdogan are actually bragging about eliminating the entire Armenian presence and destroying churches and the whole cultural presence.” He also referred to a new website launched by the Armenian National Institute that attested to the Nagorno-Karabakh Genocide.
Citing a September 14, 2023 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Nagorno-Karabakh, where Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Yuri Kim stated “the United States will not countenance any action or effort— short-term or long-term—to ethnically cleanse or commit other atrocities against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The current humanitarian situation is not acceptable,” Krikorian emphasized that the failure to follow up on that position had “dire consequences.”
Less than a week later, on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan – with the support of Turkey and in coordination with Russia – launched a military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the death and injury of innocent civilians and the forced displacement of some 120,000 indigenous Christian Armenians, including 30,000 children who fled to Armenia.
“This assault was the culmination of Azerbaijan’s genocidal campaign against the Armenian people that started with the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor in December 2022 and placed the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh under siege and threat of starvation,” stated Krikorian. He elaborated that these instances of violence, along with the 2020 War, which overturned decades of U.S. efforts and support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group, highlighted “Azerbaijan’s public disdain for the U.S.”
“The reality is that the Aliyev government persists in outright racism and destruction of churches and the Armenian Christian presence, rather than respecting basic human rights, advancing mutual respect, or acting democratically,” said Krikorian. He stated that Armenians need to be returned to their homes, churches, cemeteries, and other homeland attributes in freedom and security.
To that end, he pointed out that “America does not whitewash human rights violations,” and requested that the Commission Co-Chairs go on record officially to recognize and call for the reversal of the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Christian Armenians.
“When the leader of a friendly country makes such a public warning and the perpetrators are clearly taking genocidal actions, we would hope the United States would do more, not just because of obligations under the Genocide Convention but because that is what Americans stand for,” said Krikorian, who also recommended increasing the number and frequency of Congressional visits to Armenia and its border regions, and adding American presence in the region, similar to the successful EU monitoring missions. He went on to discuss the need to supplement the Genocide Convention and US law to do more to prevent genocide and punish perpetrators, with several options.
Another issue Krikorian emphasized in addition to the Aliyev regime’s illegal blockades, existential threats, and blackmailing tactics against Nagorno-Karabakh, is its illegal detainment of Armenian prisoners of war, civilian captives, and high profile figures, including the former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, whose US-based lawyer outlined torture issues to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel and Degrading Treatment.
An additional point of contention was the improper balance of U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan prior to the 2020 War, which helped facilitate the brutality of violence against Armenians, and that “denying Armenia balanced military assistance is a recipe for future disaster.”
Krikorian added that “numerous U.S. laws on the books are not being enforced,” such as Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act that continued to be waived for decades, “costing Armenian lives, culture, and American credibility.”
He also drew attention to the fraudulent, state-sponsored positions of the Azeri government and witnesses appearing in Congress on its behalf, particularly the English lawyer Rodney Dixon who submitted denialist under pretext of legal testimony at the Commission’s September 6, 2023 hearing on the eve of the September 2023 final ethnic cleansing of Armenians that was completely belied by events.
COP29 AND SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding Azerbaijan’s upcoming controversial hosting of COP29, Krikorian offered specific recommendations for delegations to follow, such as publicly reading the names of all political prisoners as part of their presentations and call for their release, as well as calling out names of those involved in war crimes and atrocities. He also recommended that delegations “not stay in properties formerly owned by Armenians that were converted into hotels,” and should “call for the re-establishment in freedom and security of the indigenous Armenian population and not acquiesce to ethnic cleansing.”
Reflecting on history, Krikorian pointed out that in the aftermath of World War I, the U.S. was offered the mandate for an independent Armenia, which he stated would have “changed the history of the Cold War and more of the region would have been westernized and democratized.”
“We are at another one of these windows and not repeating that mistake in the 21st century strikes us as paramount,” said Krikorian, as he touched upon the “new reality” of the world that has been divided into authoritarian states and democracies, alongside capitalism and command economies.
“Failure to recognize differences has caused damage to countries who play by the rules,” he said.
Krikorian concluded that the “status quo is unsustainable,” and that “atrocities, desecration of churches, corruption and rest of the current characteristics Aliyev and Erdogan have chosen are the curses of Pandora’s box,” and thanked the Commission for their efforts.
In response, Rep. Smith said Krikorian’s testimony was a “learning experience.”
“Every time [we hear you speak] we learn something new, and we all thank you for the extensive knowledge and wisdom you bring,” said Rep. Smith.
Following the witness testimonies, the panel engaged in questions and answers with the witnesses specifics of cultural erasure, atrocities and the political prisoners, available for viewing on YouTube. Co-Chair Smith’s calls for action included an instructive reminder of the parallel with denialist lobbying for Nicolae Ceaușescu before the facts were widely accepted, and the need for war crimes trials for Aliyev and Erdogan. The written testimonies are posted on the Commission site as they are available.
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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