Safeguarding the People of Nagorno-Karabakh Hearing, June 21st, 2023. Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on safeguarding the people of Nagorno-Karabakh as risks of renewed violence in and around the enclave increase. Two and a half years after a bloody six-week war pushed Armenian forces out of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, tensions are again escalating. A blockade of the Lachin corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijani-backed activists has entered its 7th month, and on April 23 Azerbaijan opened a military checkpoint on the corridor that is widely viewed as inconsistent with the provisions of the 2020 ceasefire agreement that ended the last war. A number of international efforts are underway to mitigate the risk of a new full-blown war, including by officials at the U.S. State Department. One major issue is what is required to adequately protect the rights and safety of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbaijan seeks to assert control. This hearing will examine the measures required to adequately safeguard, during this period of blockade and negotiation, a vulnerable ethnic population, and offer recommendations for U.S. policy.
