The ANCA reports that U.S. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA).joined today with senior House Foreign Affairs Committee member Brad Sherman (D-CA), have sent a letter to their Congressional colleagues encouraging them to cosponsor a U.S. House resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and ongoing human rights violations.

The text of the proposed resolution includes the following points:

(1) condemns Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh);

(2) encourages the United States Government and international community to petition the International Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, or other appropriate international tribunals to take appropriate steps to investigate any and all war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani forces;

(3) calls on the United States Government to work swiftly with our international partners, including authorities in Artsakh, regarding the deployment of international observers to the Lachin Corridor and Artsakh to explore opportunities for more effective and sustainable guarantees of security and peaceful development;

(4) calls on the President to immediately suspend any U.S. new, current, or pending military or security assistance to Azerbaijan, and to fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act;

(5) supports U.S. sanctions under existing statutory authority against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and other well-documented human rights violations committed against Armenians in the region such as the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the destruction of historic, cultural, and places of worship of great significance to Armenians;

(6) supports a robust program of sustained U.S. humanitarian and development assistance to the Armenian victims of Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh, including the potential opening of an USAID office in Artsakh․