Agreement ignoring Azerbaijan`s 2023 genocidal ethnic cleansing of  Artsakh is not foundation for durable and lasting peace - ANCA

ArmInfo.  The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has issued a statement, which reads: 

Following the release of the U.S. State Department's 2024 Country  Report on Human Rights Practices in Azerbaijan, the Armenian National  Committee of America (ANCA) reiterates its calls for the U.S. to take  immediate action to address the widely documented human rights  violations perpetrated by Azerbaijan through the immediate reversal  of the Trump Administration's waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM  Support Act, the enforcement of Global Magnitsky Sanctions against  Azerbaijan officials responsible for war crimes, and the  unconditional release of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian  hostages.

"The Trump Administration's own human rights report leaves no doubt -  Azerbaijan continues to hold and torture Armenian prisoners, destroy  Armenian heritage, and systematically erase Artsakh's Armenian  presence," stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Waiving  Section 907 rewards this record. We urge the Administration to  reverse this waiver, block arms sales, and sanction the Azerbaijani  architects of these atrocities under the Global Magnitsky Act."

The State Department's report on Azerbaijan highlights "credible  reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman,  or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest and detention;  transnational repression against individuals in another country",  noting that the government of Azerbaijan "did not take credible steps  or action to identify and punish officials who committed human rights  abuses."

The State Department's report cites the UN Committee against Torture  June 5th report detailing "severe and grave violations of  international humanitarian law and human rights law committed by  Azerbaijani military forces against prisoners of war and other  protected persons of Armenian ethnic or national origin." It further  documents that on September 27th, 2024, UN human rights experts  raised "concern regarding the alleged enforced disappearance of 23  Armenian soldiers and one civilian following their captivity by  Azerbaijani forces in Zangilan in 2020" and that Azerbaijan "did not  respond during the year."

The State Department report highlights a November 11, 2024 Freedom  House fact- finding study concluding that Azerbaijan "acted upon a  comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy to empty  Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population between 2020 and  2023, subjecting the population: to attacks, intimidation,  deprivation of basic rights and adequate living conditions, and  forced displacement."

In that 133-page report, Freedom House concluded that "the  Azerbaijani state ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic  Armenian population, using forced displacement as a means",  recommending governments "impose targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani  officials responsible for the ethnic cleansing and related human  rights violations", "halt the sale, supply, or transfer of offensive  military equipment, technology, and intelligence to Azerbaijan," and  to "continue pursuing international legal avenues to seek  accountability measures and remedies: includ[ing] ongoing efforts at  the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human  Rights."

The State Department report also notes that, according to media  reports, "only 15 ethnic Armenian residents remained in  Nagorno-Karabakh as of October 24, 2024," and that "Caucasus Heritage  Watch reported on the destruction of cultural heritage sites,  including the St. John the Baptist Church and the Ghazanchetsots  Cemetery in Shusha." The report further cites a September 2024  Bellingcat investigation showing "satellite and social media images  from Khankendi of numerous high piles of debris from what it alleged  were ransacked apartment buildings and civilian homes."

Released just days after the White House-brokered Azerbaijan-Armenia  "peace" deal - widely criticized for ignoring these very crimes - the  State Department's own findings reinforce ANCA's position that U.S.  aid, arms sales, and diplomatic concessions to Azerbaijan without  justice and accountability only embolden its aggression.

"An agreement that ignores Azerbaijan's 2023 genocidal ethnic  cleansing of Artsakh, its destruction of Armenian cultural heritage,  the torture and detention of Armenian POWs, and the right of return  for displaced Armenians is not the foundation for a durable and  lasting peace," added Hamparian. "It is, instead, a green light for  Baku to commit more aggression, confident that it will face no  consequences from Washington."

On August 8, the ANCA released a detailed Congressional memo citing  the shortcomings of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal. Armenian  Americans can visit anca.org/realpeace to urge President Trump and  their Members of Congress to oppose U.S. military assistance to  Azerbaijan, press for the release of Armenian prisoners, and support  sanctions against Baku's war criminals.