Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Convenes Hearing On First Anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Assault on Artsakh
Co-Chairs James McGovern (D-MA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
“The government of Azerbaijan must be held accountable for its crimes and violations of human rights…including ethnic cleansing and forced displacement,” continued Rep. Costa, who emphasized that the U.S. Administration needs to “double its efforts” with the peace process.
“America’s ability to continue to be the beacon of light and standing up for human rights throughout the world must be a constant,” said Rep. Costa. “We must continue to be on the side of Armenia and the Armenian people.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said that he personally saw Azerbaijan’s “encroachments” and “heard the stories from those forcibly extracted” when he traveled to Armenia with the Helsinki Commission. He stated that he was “disturbed” by the destruction of cultural heritage, as well as Turkey refusing their airplane from flying over their airspace because they were coming from Armenia.
“This is a NATO ally, and we are traveling on a U.S. government airplane, and a NATO ally refused us air space because we had visited Yerevan,” said Rep. Harris. “We have to deal with that…because it seems our lengthiest relationship with an ally is the one that is betraying our trust.”
He concluded it was “clear” that there was “complicity” among Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan regarding Nagorno-Karabakh and that they “all had a hand to play.”
The Commission heard from a broad range of witnesses, which included: Gegham Stepanyan, Former Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, who testified on the genocidal policies and crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh; Professor Adam T. Smith, Co-Director of Caucasus Heritage Watch, Cornell University, who testified on Azerbaijan’s record of deliberately targeting Armenian cultural heritage; Kate Watters, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Crude Accountability, who provided testimony on the human rights issues and corruption in Azerbaijan and its hosting of the upcoming COP29; Sharmagh Mardi, Supervising Lawyer at the Center for Truth & Justice, who testified about the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenian people of Artsakh and her collection of over 500 eyewitness testimonies; and Andrea J. Prasow, Executive Director of Freedom Now, whose testimony focused on the suppression of human rights activists in Azerbaijan.
Watters stated that the Aliyev regime is “rife with corruption,” and there has been an increasing crackdown on civil society activists and journalists “who speak in opposition to authorities using fabricated charges and violating rights of those arrested, such as using torture and inhumane treatment.”
She reported that Azerbaijan “regularly detains those it seeks to silence” and currently has 303 political prisoners in custody, which is 49 more than last year.
“The numbers are appalling,” said Watters. “Azerbaijan is party to numerous international human rights treaties… that prohibit the use of torture” yet there are credible records of torture, particularly in police custody where authorities use abusive tactics.
She stated that there is “extensive documentation” from internationally known organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as numerous media reports that focus on cases of “arbitrary detention and mistreatment taking place over the last year that provide insights into the scale of human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and the scope of inhumane illegal and violent treatment of civil society and journalists that is occurring.”
Prasow read a statement from human rights activists from Azerbaijan – who could not attend and could not use their names – individuals targeted by the Aliyev regime for their activism.
“The human rights situation in Azerbaijan is dire,” she read. “Azerbaijan is an authoritarian regime for over a decade that has used laws and judicial system to restrict and contain civil society.”
She continued: “Azerbaijan has accelerated its oppression as it approaches COP29 in November…as peace activists have been arrested and charged with treason.”
“So far actions have not impeded Aliyev’s regime, and more serious actions must be taken in order for Azerbaijan to release political prisoners and relax its grip on civil society, including targeted sanctions,” concluded Prasow. “Otherwise, we fear more of our friends will see the inside of a prison.”
Professor Smith stated that the role of archaeologists is to “provide a voice for the irreplaceable remains of the human past” and to “stand against heritage abuse.”
He emphasized the importance of human rights to culture and that “attacks on heritage monuments are not just violence against buildings, but against a people and their collective identity.”
Professor Smith noted that Caucasus Heritage Watch has documented the fate of Armenian cultural heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh and determined 14 destroyed sites including historic cemeteries and churches, 12 significantly damaged sites, and 31 in immediate threat of destruction, and stated that there is “deep concern for what is going on in Nagorno-Karabakh from the perspective of archaeologists.”
“The real need is amplification,” said Professor Smith. “The world community needs to be aware of the heritage destruction, and there needs to be a reputation cost that undertakes to revise the historical record through obliteration of archaeological and historical monuments.”
In his testimony, Stepanyan shared that he has personally witnessed and experienced “Azerbaijan’s systematic genocidal policy,” and was forcibly displaced from his ancestral lands, while serving as a documentarian of “horrific crimes against humanity.”
“I was a human rights defender who could not go to the people whose rights I was meant to protect,” he said in reference to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor in December 2022. “I saw with my own eyes how people, including over 30,000 children were living in cold conditions without gas.”
“I tried to tell the world as much as possible hoping to break down the wall of indifference that had been created against the Artsakh people who were driven by despair and chaos while forced to leave their homes,” stated Stepanyan, who emphasized that genocide was occurring in front of everyone’s eyes, while Azerbaijan “erased all remnants of Armenian traces from Artsakh.”
As Azerbaijan continues to illegally detain Armenian hostages and prisoners of war, Stepanyan said the Aliyev regime is “not being held accountable for the ongoing crimes” and instead is allowed to organize prestigious events like COP29.