[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 19 (Thursday, February 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 540--REQUESTING INFORMATION ON AZERBAIJAN'S HUMAN 
RIGHTS PRACTICES PURSUANT TO SECTION 502B(C) OF THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 
                              ACT OF 1961

  Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Peters, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Fetterman) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 540

       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON AZERBAIJAN'S HUMAN 
                   RIGHTS PRACTICES.

       (a) Statement Requested.--The Senate requests that the 
     Secretary of State, not later than 30 days after the date of 
     the adoption of this resolution, transmit to the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, pursuant to 
     section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2304(c)), a statement, prepared in collaboration with 
     the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, 
     and Labor and the Office of the Legal Adviser, regarding 
     Azerbaijan's human rights practices.
       (b) Elements.--The statement submitted under subsection (a) 
     shall include the following elements:
       (1) All available information about the observance and 
     respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in 
     Azerbaijan, including information concerning alleged 
     violations of internationally recognized human rights by the 
     Government of Azerbaijan, including--
       (A) unlawful or arbitrary killings;
       (B) torture;
       (C) cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of 
     detainees;
       (D) political prisoners;
       (E) arbitrary arrest or detention;
       (F) the displacement of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno 
     Karabakh;
       (G) restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, and 
     movement;
       (H) pervasive problems with the independence of the 
     judiciary;
       (I) forced disappearances;
       (J) serious restrictions on freedom of speech, expression, 
     and the media;
       (K) severe restrictions on political participation;
       (L) discrimination against women and gender-based violence;
       (M) restrictions on religious freedom;
       (N) serious restrictions on internet freedom;
       (O) existence of the worst forms of child labor; and
       (P) destruction of religious and cultural sites.
       (2) A description of the steps that the United States 
     Government has taken--
       (A) to promote respect for and observance of human rights 
     in Azerbaijan and by the Government of Azerbaijan, including 
     in the context of the conflict with Armenia and Artsakh 
     (Nagorno-Karabakh);
       (B) to discourage any practices in Azerbaijan that are 
     inimical to internationally recognized human rights; and
       (C) to publicly or privately call attention to, and 
     disassociate the United States and any security assistance 
     provided for the Government of Azerbaijan from, any practices 
     described in subparagraph (B).
       (3) An assessment from the Secretary of State, 
     notwithstanding any practices described in paragraph (2)(B), 
     whether extraordinary circumstances exist that necessitate a 
     continuation of security assistance for Azerbaijan.
       (4) If such circumstances exist, a description of the 
     circumstances and the extent to which security assistance 
     should be continued (subject to such conditions as Congress 
     may impose under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304)).
       (5) Other information, including--
       (A) an assessment from the Secretary of State of the 
     likelihood that United States security assistance (as defined 
     in section 502B(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2304(d))) has or will be used in support of 
     Azerbaijani activities related to the conflict with Armenia, 
     aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), and the 
     blockade of the Lachin Corridor;
       (B) a description and assessment of the actions that the 
     United States Government is taking to ensure end use 
     monitoring protocols for all weapons sold or transferred to 
     Azerbaijan;
       (C) an assessment of the impact of United States assistance 
     provided to Azerbaijan over the past 10 years has had on the 
     balance of power between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and on 
     efforts to negotiate a durable and lasting peace settlement 
     between Armenia and Azerbaijan;
       (D) a description of the United States Government's efforts 
     in Azerbaijan to adhere to the prohibitions in section 620M 
     of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d) and 
     section 362 of title 10, United States Code, against the 
     provision of foreign assistance to security units against 
     which there are credible allegations of human rights 
     violations (commonly referred to as the ``Leahy laws'') and 
     to ensure that no units implicated in gross violations of 
     human rights receive United States assistance, including 
     information on which units have been rejected in the Leahy 
     vetting process;
       (E) an assessment from the Secretary of State of whether 
     ethnic cleansing or genocidal acts have taken or are taking 
     place in Nagorno-Karabakh; and
       (F) a determination, within 30 days of passage of this 
     resolution, as to whether Azerbaijani officials found to be 
     responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or 
     indirectly engaged in, human rights abuses listed in 
     paragraph (1) meet the criteria for sanctions and--
       (i) a description of any actions that the United States 
     Government is taking to implement sanctions, including 
     sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
     Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) and section 
     7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and 
     Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 (division G of 
     Public Law 116-94; 133 Stat. 2864), to hold accountable 
     Azerbaijani officials responsible for gross violations of 
     human rights or significant corruption; or
       (ii) a justification for why sanctions have not been 
     imposed on individuals found to meet the criteria for 
     sanctions under existing law.

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