Washington, D.C. – Armenian Assembly of America Co-Chair Talin Yacoubian testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, during the Subcommittee’s public witness hearing on Fiscal Year 2026 funding, calling for humanitarian aid and security assistance to Armenia, continued enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, and implementation of targeted sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
“In the wake of a war and forced displacement of 120,000 people from their ancestral lands, the Armenian people and Armenia are facing ongoing existential threats,” said Yacoubian. “Despite hope for peace, Azerbaijan continues to illegally occupy Armenian territory, hold political hostages, conduct sham trials, and erase Armenian cultural heritage.”
Yacoubian noted that in view of what Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev has declared, that “[we] have destroyed Armenia,” it is imperative that the United States “not look away now” because our nation has a long history of “doing the right thing.”
“[The Assembly] urges Congress to enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, which prohibits aid to Azerbaijan until it ceases its use of force against Armenia,” said Yacoubian, citing Azerbaijan’s repeated human rights violations, and the importance of implementing sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
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Yacoubian also urged the U.S. to “consider steps to reinforce the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Armenia” by providing not less than $50 million in security assistance to help Armenia protect its sovereignty, and allocate not less than $250 million in humanitarian assistance to support the over 120,000 persecuted Christians from Nagorno-Karabakh who were “forced from their lands and homes under the threat of genocide.”
Upholding the right of return for displaced citizens and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage was also highlighted by Yacoubian.
“The Armenian people who survived genocide in the 20th century now only ask for peace, dignity, and the right to exist,” Yacoubian concluded.
The hearing coincided with the Assembly’s Spring 2025 Advocacy Summit when on Wednesday, April 2, participants joined Members of Congress in meetings on the Hill to advocate for the same issue. The day concludes with the annual Armenian Genocide commemorative gathering on Capitol Hill.
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 strictly non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
Armenian Assembly of America