IV 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 137 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 12, 2012 Mr. Rohrabacher submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that the Azeri people, currently divided between Azerbaijan and Iran, have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country if they so choose.

Whereas the Azeri people have maintained a proud and distinctive national, cultural, and religious identity dating back to ancient times; Whereas in Iran, the provinces inhabited mainly by ethnic Azeris are called East and West Azerbaijan by the government in Tehran, thus giving credibility to the claim that the homeland of the Azeri is divided; Whereas the Azeri homeland was split between Russia and Persia by the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, without the consent of the Azeris; Whereas the Azeris gained partial liberation when the Republic of Azerbaijan gained its independence in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union; and Whereas it is the policy of the United States to oppose aggression and the violation of human rights inherent in the subjugation of national groups like the Azeris in Iran: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that the Azeri people, currently divided between Azerbaijan and Iran, have the right to self-determination and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status among the community of nations, living in peace and harmony, without external coercion.