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Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced a comprehensive bipartisan Senate resolution Tuesday condemning Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, calling for targeted sanctions against President Ilham Aliyev’s genocidal regime, demanding the immediate release of illegally held Armenian prisoners, seeking a prohibition on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, and affirming the right of return of Artsakh’s population with strong security protections, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“We welcome today’s introduction of this Senate Resolution by Senators Peters and Cassidy as yet another marker of growing bipartisan Congressional support for Artsakh’s rights,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “By strongly condemning Azerbaijan’s brutal actions and calling for decisive international measures, this resolution reaffirms our American commitment to Artsakh’s rights – putting in place a robust framework for accountability and justice.”

“Azerbaijan is holding Europe hostage because of their energy, but Louisiana has enough energy to meet Europe’s needs. The world cannot enable a dictator,” the resolution co-author Dr. Cassidy explained,

Specifically, the Peters-Cassidy resolution establishes:

— Azerbaijan’s Artsakh blockade and attacks are ethnic cleansing: Condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the atrocities perpetrated by the government of Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and recognizes both the blockade and subsequent Azerbaijani offensive as ethnic cleansing.

— Targeted sanctions: Calls for the imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijani officials complicit in human rights abuses against the Artsakh Armenian population.

— Security assurances for Artsakh returnees: Advocates for “strong protections” to ensure the safety and security of Armenians returning to their ancestral lands, deterring further aggression.

— Robust humanitarian assistance: Stipulates “robust” humanitarian assistance to respond to the refugee crisis in Armenia caused by Azerbaijan’s forced depopulation of over 100,000 Artsakh Armenians and urges the administration to coordinate international aid efforts.

— Enforcement of Section 907:  Prohibit the provision of United States military aid to Azerbaijan pursuant to section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act (Public Law 102–511; 22 U.S.C. 5812 note).

— Armenia security assistance: Calls for strengthening the United States-Armenia security partnership as Armenia bolsters its ties to Western allies

— Diplomatic initiatives for lasting peace: Urges active U.S. diplomacy in the South Caucasus to facilitate the “release of all Armenians unjustly imprisoned by the government of Azerbaijan, establishes a right of return and security guarantees for the displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and preserves the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

The measure calls specific attention to “dozens of Armenian prisoners of war, civilian captives, and members of the political leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh are now unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan on politically motivated charges or no charges at all.” It cites that the Artsakh leaders imprisoned by Azerbaijan, including Davit Manukyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Ishkhanyan and Ruben Vardanyan, “should be afforded due process in accordance with the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Azerbaijan is a party.” It notes that the “Government of Azerbaijan has a well-documented record of subjecting Armenian prisoners to torture, humiliation, and other violations of fundamental rights afforded by the Geneva Conventions.”

The resolution also highlights that international legal experts, including former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo and former United Nations genocide expert Juan Mendez, have determined that Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh violated the United Nations Genocide Convention.

The resolution builds on a similar bi-partisan resolution in the U.S. House (H.R.1327), introduced by Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), which has over 25 cosponsors.