IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 320 
Recognizing the Republic of Artsakh’s independence and condemning 
Azerbaijan’s continued aggression against Armenia and Artsakh. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 24, 2023 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. GOTTHEIMER) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the Republic of Artsakh’s independence and con-
demning Azerbaijan’s continued aggression against Ar-
menia and Artsakh. 
Whereas the right to self-determination is enshrined in sev-
eral articles of international law to which the United 
States is a party, including Article I of the UN Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which 
states, ‘‘All peoples have the right of self-determination. 
By virtue of that right they freely determine their polit-
ical status and freely pursue their economic, social and 
cultural development.’’; 
Whereas the United States has historically supported the 
right to self-determination for persecuted populations, in-
cluding but not limited to the cases of Timor-Leste, 
Kosovo, and South Sudan; 
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Whereas Armenians have been historically recognized as the 
indigenous population of Artsakh (Soviet name: Nagorno 
Karabakh), an integral part of the Armenian homeland 
and a major center of Armenian cultural life, with Chris-
tian holy sites dating back to the 1st century; 
Whereas Soviet Azerbaijan engaged in the systematic perse-
cution and discrimination of the region’s indigenous Ar-
menians, which comprised over 80 percent of Artsakh’s 
population; 
Whereas the Republic of Artsakh declared its independence 
in 1991, consistent with their rights under the Declara-
tion on Principles of International Law concerning 
Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States (1970) 
in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, 
following Azerbaijan’s deprivation of the fundamental 
rights of the region’s Armenian population and use of 
force, including the pogroms of Sumgait, Baku, and 
Kirovobad that resulted in hundreds of deaths and the 
forced displacement of over 400,000 Armenians from 
Azerbaijan; 
Whereas the Armenians of Artsakh voted with near-unani-
mous consent to declare their independence from Azer-
baijan by referendum on December 10, 1991; 
Whereas Azerbaijan in response launched a full-scale war 
that saw the widespread perpetration of war crimes and 
human rights abuses, including the bombing and block-
ade of cities, the targeting of civilian populations, and the 
recruitment of foreign terrorists from Chechnya and Af-
ghanistan; 
Whereas the First Karabakh War ended in 1994 with a 
cease-fire brokered by the Russian Federation that en-
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sured Artsakh’s de facto independence from Azerbaijan 
and initiated a multilateral conflict resolution process 
under the auspices of the Organization for Security and 
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ‘‘Minsk Group’’ co-
chaired by Russia, the United States, and France; 
Whereas the OSCE Minsk Group process determined to en-
sure a final resolution to the conflict based on the Hel-
sinki Final Act (1975) principles of non-use of force, ter-
ritorial integrity, and self-determination; 
Whereas despite these efforts Azerbaijan’s aggression against 
Artsakh continued unabated and culminated in its full- 
scale assault on the territory in September 2020 with the 
support of Turkey that resulted in thousands of deaths, 
the capture of territory by force, the displacement of tens 
of thousands of civilians, the systematic perpetration of 
war crimes and human rights abuses, and the ongoing 
detention of hundreds of prisoners of war; 
Whereas Azerbaijan continues to demonstrate its inability 
and unwillingness to ensure the fundamental rights of the 
region’s Armenian population, seen in remarks by Azer-
baijani President Ilham Aliyev on January 11, 2023, re-
garding ethnic Armenians in Artsakh stating, ‘‘Whoever 
does not want to become our citizen, the road is not 
closed’’, just one of his recent comments that raise con-
cerns about ethnic cleansing and a new genocide in 
Artsakh; 
Whereas Azerbaijani Armed Forces continue to carry out 
unprovoked attacks on Armenian territory, including 
opening fire on Armenian soldiers carrying out engineer-
ing works in the Tegh Community on April 11, 2023, 
killing four Armenian soldiers and wounding six; 
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Whereas, on March 26, 2023, Azerbaijani troops crossed the 
line of contact to launch an operation to cut off a dirt 
road that was providing some relief from the blockade of 
the Lachin Corridor, in violation of the 2020 cease-fire 
statement; 
Whereas, on March 5, 2023, Azerbaijani troops attacked a 
Nagorno-Karabakh police car, killing three police officers; 
Whereas these are only the most recent escalations by Azer-
baijan, as in September 2022, Azerbaijan launched its 
latest, unprovoked assault on sovereign Armenian terri-
tory, with intensive shelling and UAV attacks on the vil-
lages of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard in Nagorno 
Karabakh (Artsakh), and the Armenian border cities of 
Vardenis, Jermuk, Goris, and Tatev reportedly resulting 
in the deaths of at least 49 soldiers; 
Whereas, since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has created 
a humanitarian crisis by blockading the Lachin Corridor, 
the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, 
depriving some 120,000 innocent civilians of their essen-
tial rights, including the right to freedom of movement; 
Whereas the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh has grown more 
dire by the day, with widespread shortages of food, medi-
cine, and other necessities and rolling blackouts, all with 
the complicity of the Azerbaijani Government; 
Whereas despite Azerbaijan’s flagrant violation of Armenia’s 
sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law, and 
the November 2020 tripartite statement signed by Arme-
nia, Azerbaijan, and Russia to end the Nagorno- 
Karabakh War, the Department of State waived section 
907 of the Freedom Support Act to provide assistance to 
Azerbaijan, despite the recent publication of a Govern-
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ment Accountability Office report (22–104619), which 
confirmed the Department of State and Department of 
Defense have failed to meet statutory reporting require-
ments to Congress on the impact of United States assist-
ance on the peace process and the military balance be-
tween Armenia and Azerbaijan; 
Whereas section 907 of the Freedom Support Act is intended 
to prevent United States military assistance to Azer-
baijan unless the President certifies Azerbaijan ‘‘is taking 
demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offen-
sive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno- 
Karabakh’’; and 
Whereas peace, stability, and democracy in the Caucasus re-
gion are in the political, security, and economic interests 
of the United States and are matters of international 
concern: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the independence of the Republic 
of Artsakh, consistent with the right to self-deter-
mination enshrined in various United Nations in-
struments and the people of Artsakh’s 1991 vote 
and decision to declare their independence from 
Azerbaijan; 
(2) urges the United States to engage 
proactively in supporting international recognition of 
the status of the Republic of Artsakh; 
(3) condemns the ongoing blockade of the 
Lachin Corridor and unprovoked attacks by the Az-
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erbaijani forces on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, 
and calls for Azerbaijan to immediately cease its 
blockade and aggressions against Armenia and 
Artsakh without conditions; 
(4) calls for all United States foreign and mili-
tary assistance to Azerbaijan to be immediately 
ceased pursuant to the section 907 of the Freedom 
Support Act and for the Administration to make 
clear to the Government of Azerbaijan that further 
attacks on Armenia and Artsakh will result in sanc-
tions and other measures; 
(5) stands firmly in support of our democratic 
partner Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integ-
rity, and against Azerbaijan’s military aggression 
and blatant violations of international laws and 
norms; and 
(6) supports the United States and inter-
national humanitarian assistance programs to meet 
the urgent needs of victims of Azerbaijani aggression 
in both Armenia and Artsakh. 
Æ 
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