WASHINGTON—The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, co-chaired by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and James McGovern (D-MA), will host a hearing on September 19 at 10:30 a.m. ET about Azerbaijani human rights abuses against Armenians since the genocide of Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) Armenians last year, an act of bipartisan congressional oversight supported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The hearing notice says: “The government of Azerbaijan has a notoriously poor human rights record. According to Freedom House, ‘Power in Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime remains heavily concentrated in the hands of Ilham Aliyev, who has served as president since 2003, and his extended family.’” The hearing will address Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh “and a number of related issues, including the situation of prisoners of war and political prisoners, the status of Armenian cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh and the right of return of ethnic Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“We welcome the leadership of Congressmen Chris Smith and James McGovern in holding Aliyev accountable, rolling back Azerbaijan’s aggression, and charting a safe and sustainable pathway for the return of Artsakh’s Armenians under a global mandate and international protection,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Thankfully, members of Congress are stepping up — on a bipartisan basis — confronting the failings of the past two administrations in arming Azerbaijan, enabling genocide and abandoning Artsakh.”
The three witnesses announced for the hearing are:
— Gegham Stepanyan, former Human Rights Defender, Republic of Artsakh
— Karnig Kerkonian, International lawyer, and member, Committee on the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of the Artsakh People
— Kate Watters, co-founder and executive director, Crude Accountability
Additional witnesses may be added. The hearing will be live-streamed on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission site and ANCA social media channels.
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We the 24.182 signatories of the petition to Presidents D.Trump and J.Biden demanding the impementation of existing US laws to transfer the “Armenian Question” from a frozen Cold War mentality to a solution stage as was planned by the 28-the President of the US Woodrow Wilson.
We salute you. We are with you.
V.Pilossyan M.D.
Yet none of these hearings have resulted in any legislative action to date, whether in a resolution condemning Azerbaijan for its ethnic cleansing, war crimes and gross human rights violations in general against the Armenians of Artsakh, let alone imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan for those crimes – who got off scot-free.
When fascist dictatorships like Azerbaijan are not hold to account for war crimes and human rights violations, they are in effect rewarded for their criminal behavior, and are further emboldened to commit more acts of aggression, war crimes and other human rights violations with impunity.