Thursday, August 24 2023 15:20

ArmInfo.The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) ramped up pressure on the Biden  Administration and Congress this week, issuing a nationwide call to  action in support of a United Nations Security Council resolution  demanding Azerbaijan lift its genocidal blockade of Artsakh's  indigenous Christian population.

  Over 200,000 letters from pro-Artsakh advocates have already reached  President Biden, Vice-President Harris, and U.S. Senate and House  members, calling for immediate steps to "avert an impending genocide  in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) caused by Azerbaijan's 250+ day  blockade of the Lachin Corridor - the only humanitarian lifeline  linking Artsakh to Armenia."

  Specifically, Armenian Americans and their allies are urging the U.S.  to:

Lead a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning  Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh, and calling for the immediate  reopening of the Lachin Corridor consistent with the binding  provisional order issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Suspend any new, current, or pending U.S. military or security  assistance to Azerbaijan, and fully enforce Section 907 of the  FREEDOM Support Act;

Provide emergency U.S. humanitarian assistance to the Armenian  victims of Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno Karabakh, including by  means of a humanitarian airlift;

Apply statutory sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible  for the genocidal blockade of Nagorno Karabakh.  

Last week, on the eve of the United Nations Security Council  discussion of the humanitarian impact of Azerbaijan's over 250-day  blockade of Artsakh, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman  Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) appealed to  United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb.  Linda Thomas-Greenfield, urging her to introduce a UN resolution  calling for an immediate end to Azerbaijan's eight-month blockade of  Nagorno-Karabakh, including allowing unfettered humanitarian access  to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

  In their August 15th letter, Senators Menendez and Padilla asked Amb.  Thomas-Greenfield, who is currently serving as President of the UN  Security Council, to "work with all UNSC members to pressure the  Azerbaijani government to lift the blockade and prevent what the  evidence suggests is a coordinated effort to ethnically cleanse the  people of Nagorno-Karabakh." 

In an August 14 letter to President Biden, Congressional Armenian  Caucus Co-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged the US to lead a UN Security  Council resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately comply with  the orders of the International Court of Justice as well as an  independent report on the human rights and humanitarian situation.   "Though the U.S. government, the European Union, UN experts, and  Russia have condemned the blockade and called for the corridor to be  opened to regular traffic, Azerbaijan has ignored such statements for  months. The U.S. Department of State and USAID have tried to use  diplomacy to put an end to Aliyev's blockade of the Lachin Corridor,  but the time for statements and such calls has clearly long passed.  The United States must take concrete actions and immediately use  other tools to press Azerbaijan to return to compliance with  international law and order." wrote Rep. Schiff.  

On August 22nd, Rep. Schiff issued a video appeal calling on the US  government to lead a UN Security Council resolution and to enforce  Section 907 restrictions on US military aid to Azerbaijan.  

Fellow Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone(D-NJ),  and Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA),  RajaKrishnamoorthi (D-IL), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Jim McGovern  (D-MA), Katie Porter(D-CA), and Dina Titus (D-NV) also went on the  record calling for US leadership to lift Azerbaijan's Artsakh  blockade.  Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) condemned Azerbaijan's "genocide  against Christian Armenians" in multiple social media statements  regarding the Artsakh blockade.

  During the August 16th UN Security Council meeting, Amb.  Thomas-Greenfield offered remarks "urging the government of  Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the corridor - so  commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles can reach the  population of Nagorno-Karabakh."  All sitting members of the UN  Security Council called for the immediate reopening of the Lachin  Corridor and to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to the region.   Pressure continues on the U.S. and other UN Security Council members  to pass a resolution or issue a declaration demanding Azerbaijan lift  its Artsakh blockade.

  Earlier this month, the First Chief Prosecutor of the International  Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a report that  determined Azerbaijan's deliberate blockade of the Lachin Corridor  constitutes an act of genocide under Article II, (c) of the Genocide  Convention: "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life  calculated to bring about its physical destruction."