ANCA calls for Azerbaijani accountability at International Religious Freedom Summit panel
WASHINGTON—In remarks offered at the Capitol Hill opening of the International Religious Freedom Summit Kick-Off Advocacy event, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director called for U.S. leadership on Artsakh’s survival, Armenia’s security and the future of Armenian communities from Syria and Lebanon to Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter.
The panel discussion focusing on Armenia, moderated by Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, featured Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA; Robert Avetisyan, former Nagorno Karabakh Representative to the United States; Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan, Director of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Armenian Apostolic Church Ecumenical Department; human rights advocate Christine Arakelian; and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a leading congressional voice on religious freedom and justice for both Armenian Genocide (1915) and Artsakh Genocide (2023).
Panelists underscored that Azerbaijan’s 2023 assault and forced displacement of 150,000 Armenians from Artsakh were and abetted by U.S. policymakers. They called on Congress and the Trump administration to implement targeted sanctions, demand the return of Armenian prisoners of war and ensure the safe and dignified return of displaced Artsakh Armenians.
Clear policy actions for U.S. leadership
Panelists outlined key policy measures the U.S. must implement to uphold religious freedom and prevent further Azerbaijani aggression against Armenians. Hamparian stressed that the failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable emboldens authoritarian regimes worldwide. He urged the U.S. to immediately cut off military aid to Azerbaijan, impose Magnitsky Act sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for war crimes and cultural destruction, and introduce a U.N. Security Council resolution ensuring the safe, protected and dignified return of Armenians to Artsakh. “Good policy starts with moral clarity,” Hamparian stated. “The U.S. must take decisive action, not just issue statements of concern.”
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) called for strong U.S. condemnation of Azerbaijan’s destruction of Armenian churches and cultural heritage, warning that Baku’s ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian land is a prelude to further aggression. “The cultural destruction has to stop. Azeri forces occupy 75 miles of Armenia itself. God forbid this is a prelude to even more expansionism,” Smith said. He urged the State Department to designate Azerbaijan as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for its systematic persecution of Armenian Christians.
Christine Arakelian argued that Christian populations in the Middle East will play an important role in the U.S. efforts to bring peace in the region. As such, “stabilizing Christian populations in the Middle East is going to be hugely supportive and actually a necessary condition of creating peace, not just in the Caucasus between Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, but also with respect to the Palestinians.”
Fr. Garegin Hambardzumyan highlighted the urgency of deploying international monitoring teams to Artsakh to document Azerbaijan’s systematic destruction of Armenian churches and religious heritage sites. He also called for the protection of the rights of Artsakh Armenians to safely return to their homelands under the oversight of the international community.
All the panelists agreed with Rep. Chris Smith’s urgent call on the Aliyev regime to “free the 23 political prisoners, or prisoners of war, I should say, and do it immediately.”
Michael Rubin: The U.S. must stop giving Turkey a “get out of jail free” card on genocide
Michael Rubin delivered a scathing critique of U.S. policy, arguing that Azerbaijan and Turkey have long exploited Washington’s geopolitical hesitancy. “When there is a gap between rhetoric and reality and policy, it breeds cynicism. And it actually encourages dictators to keep pushing and see where the red line actually is. They’ve been pushing as far as they can without any adequate or without enough adequate pushback,” stated Rubin
Drew Bowling: “Genocide has been normalized”
Co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit Kick-off Advocacy Breakfast, Drew Bowling, in his opening remarks shared a stark reality: “Genocide has all but become normalized, as evident by Azerbaijan’s obliteration of Artsakh — a client state product of Ankara’s neo-Ottoman project — a precursor to a third Armenian genocide.” The opening session was co-hosted by the Armenian Assembly of America.
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Armenia under Pashinyan abandoned pursuing accountability and justice against Azerbaijan – if there was any such intention at all – more likely none. While normally a leader and government should clamor for the people and for justice in the international arena, Pashinyan (since he is the Armenian government) is not lifting his finger. The ethnically cleansed and dispossessed people of Artsakh and the leaders of Artsakh rotting in Azerbaijani prisons have been abandoned to their fate. That is a particularly cruel twist of fate.
I wish you luck. I began collecting coins this year and this is the only reason that I’ve heard of Artsakh. I am 80 years old, have lived in the USA my whole life and consider myself well read and educated. I became interested the plight of Armenia after researching coins then signing up for the Armenian newsletter. I will do what I can to raise awareness of Artsakh, but I live in the country away from cities. Do you have any suggestions?