[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 320 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 320

   Recognizing the Republic of Artsakh's independence and condemning 
     Azerbaijan's continued aggression against Armenia and Artsakh.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 24, 2023

Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Gottheimer) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the Republic of Artsakh's independence and condemning 
     Azerbaijan's continued aggression against Armenia and Artsakh.

Whereas the right to self-determination is enshrined in several articles of 
        international law to which the United States is a party, including 
        Article I of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
        which states, ``All peoples have the right of self-determination. By 
        virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and 
        freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.'';
Whereas the United States has historically supported the right to self-
        determination for persecuted populations, including but not limited to 
        the cases of Timor-Leste, Kosovo, and South Sudan;
Whereas Armenians have been historically recognized as the indigenous population 
        of Artsakh (Soviet name: Nagorno Karabakh), an integral part of the 
        Armenian homeland and a major center of Armenian cultural life, with 
        Christian holy sites dating back to the 1st century;
Whereas Soviet Azerbaijan engaged in the systematic persecution and 
        discrimination of the region's indigenous Armenians, which comprised 
        over 80 percent of Artsakh's population;
Whereas the Republic of Artsakh declared its independence in 1991, consistent 
        with their rights under the Declaration on Principles of International 
        Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States (1970) in 
        accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, following 
        Azerbaijan's deprivation of the fundamental rights of the region's 
        Armenian population and use of force, including the pogroms of Sumgait, 
        Baku, and Kirovobad that resulted in hundreds of deaths and the forced 
        displacement of over 400,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan;
Whereas the Armenians of Artsakh voted with near-unanimous consent to declare 
        their independence from Azerbaijan by referendum on December 10, 1991;
Whereas Azerbaijan in response launched a full-scale war that saw the widespread 
        perpetration of war crimes and human rights abuses, including the 
        bombing and blockade of cities, the targeting of civilian populations, 
        and the recruitment of foreign terrorists from Chechnya and Afghanistan;
Whereas the First Karabakh War ended in 1994 with a cease-fire brokered by the 
        Russian Federation that ensured Artsakh's de facto independence from 
        Azerbaijan and initiated a multilateral conflict resolution process 
        under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in 
        Europe (OSCE) ``Minsk Group'' cochaired by Russia, the United States, 
        and France;
Whereas the OSCE Minsk Group process determined to ensure a final resolution to 
        the conflict based on the Helsinki Final Act (1975) principles of non-
        use of force, territorial integrity, and self-determination;
Whereas despite these efforts Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh continued 
        unabated and culminated in its full-scale assault on the territory in 
        September 2020 with the support of Turkey that resulted in thousands of 
        deaths, the capture of territory by force, the displacement of tens of 
        thousands of civilians, the systematic perpetration of war crimes and 
        human rights abuses, and the ongoing detention of hundreds of prisoners 
        of war;
Whereas Azerbaijan continues to demonstrate its inability and unwillingness to 
        ensure the fundamental rights of the region's Armenian population, seen 
        in remarks by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on January 11, 2023, 
        regarding ethnic Armenians in Artsakh stating, ``Whoever does not want 
        to become our citizen, the road is not closed'', just one of his recent 
        comments that raise concerns about ethnic cleansing and a new genocide 
        in Artsakh;
Whereas Azerbaijani Armed Forces continue to carry out unprovoked attacks on 
        Armenian territory, including opening fire on Armenian soldiers carrying 
        out engineering works in the Tegh Community on April 11, 2023, killing 
        four Armenian soldiers and wounding six;
Whereas, on March 26, 2023, Azerbaijani troops crossed the line of contact to 
        launch an operation to cut off a dirt road that was providing some 
        relief from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, in violation of the 
        2020 cease-fire statement;
Whereas, on March 5, 2023, Azerbaijani troops attacked a Nagorno-Karabakh police 
        car, killing three police officers;
Whereas these are only the most recent escalations by Azerbaijan, as in 
        September 2022, Azerbaijan launched its latest, unprovoked assault on 
        sovereign Armenian territory, with intensive shelling and UAV attacks on 
        the villages of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard in Nagorno Karabakh 
        (Artsakh), and the Armenian border cities of Vardenis, Jermuk, Goris, 
        and Tatev reportedly resulting in the deaths of at least 49 soldiers;
Whereas, since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has created a humanitarian crisis 
        by blockading the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-
        Karabakh to Armenia, depriving some 120,000 innocent civilians of their 
        essential rights, including the right to freedom of movement;
Whereas the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh has grown more dire by the day, with 
        widespread shortages of food, medicine, and other necessities and 
        rolling blackouts, all with the complicity of the Azerbaijani 
        Government;
Whereas despite Azerbaijan's flagrant violation of Armenia's sovereignty, 
        territorial integrity, international law, and the November 2020 
        tripartite statement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia to end 
        the Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Department of State waived section 907 of 
        the Freedom Support Act to provide assistance to Azerbaijan, despite the 
        recent publication of a Government Accountability Office report (22-
        104619), which confirmed the Department of State and Department of 
        Defense have failed to meet statutory reporting requirements to Congress 
        on the impact of United States assistance on the peace process and the 
        military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan;
Whereas section 907 of the Freedom Support Act is intended to prevent United 
        States military assistance to Azerbaijan unless the President certifies 
        Azerbaijan ``is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and 
        other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh''; 
        and
Whereas peace, stability, and democracy in the Caucasus region are in the 
        political, security, and economic interests of the United States and are 
        matters of international concern: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the independence of the Republic of Artsakh, 
        consistent with the right to self-determination enshrined in 
        various United Nations instruments and the people of Artsakh's 
        1991 vote and decision to declare their independence from 
        Azerbaijan;
            (2) urges the United States to engage proactively in 
        supporting international recognition of the status of the 
        Republic of Artsakh;
            (3) condemns the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor 
        and unprovoked attacks by the Azerbaijani forces on Armenia and 
        Nagorno-Karabakh, and calls for Azerbaijan to immediately cease 
        its blockade and aggressions against Armenia and Artsakh 
        without conditions;
            (4) calls for all United States foreign and military 
        assistance to Azerbaijan to be immediately ceased pursuant to 
        the section 907 of the Freedom Support Act and for the 
        Administration to make clear to the Government of Azerbaijan 
        that further attacks on Armenia and Artsakh will result in 
        sanctions and other measures;
            (5) stands firmly in support of our democratic partner 
        Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and against 
        Azerbaijan's military aggression and blatant violations of 
        international laws and norms; and
            (6) supports the United States and international 
        humanitarian assistance programs to meet the urgent needs of 
        victims of Azerbaijani aggression in both Armenia and Artsakh.
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