Sixty U.S. Senators and Representatives  demand  Azerbaijan be held  accountable for war crimes

ArmInfo.Sixty members of the US Congress have signed a bipartisan letter addressed to US Secretary  of State Antony Blinken, calling for US leadership in holding Azerbaijan accountable for committing war crimes, taking hostages, and illegally occupying Armenian territory.  

"The letter, led by Democrat Frank Pallone and Republican Ed Markey, calls for  U.S.  leadership  in holding Baku accountable before the UN COP29 climate  summit in Baku this November," the Armenian National Committee of  America (ANCA) said in a statement.

"World leaders must use COP29 as an opportunity to scrutinize  Azerbaijan's egregious human rights record and confront efforts by  its genocidal regime to greenwash its war crimes and atrocities,"  stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. He added that ANCA  supports the call for accountability  in the Pallone-Markey letter  and join with the 60 legislators who co-signed the bipartisan,  bicameral appeal. "It is imperative that the criminal and corrupt  Aliyev regime be compelled to deliver on its human rights and  international legal obligations before the COP29 climate summit,"  Hamparian concluded.

In the Oct. 3rd letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the U.S.  senators stated  that as COP29 approaches, they ask the State  Department press Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the  government to take tangible measures that support regional peace,  uphold human rights protections, and adhere to international laws and  norms. They stressed that "despite overwhelming evidence and  international condemnation, Azerbaijan has faced meaningful  consequences for the ethnic cleansing and other actions."

 The lawmakers called on the State Department "to press for the  immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners,  hostages, and prisoners of war, including ethnic Armenians, to enable  a more conducive environment for successful diplomacy at COP29." The  senators attested that "Azerbaijan's deadly attack on  Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, the 10-month blockade of the Lachin  Corridor, and the September 2023 cleansing of ethnic Armenians in  Nagorno-Karabakh blatantly violated international law and led to in  significant and continued human suffering." They stressed that  "civilians who have been displaced should have the safe and secure  right to return."