I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5683 
To protect and provide humanitarian assistance to Armenians in Armenia 
and Nagorno-Karabakh impacted by actions taken by the Government 
of Azerbaijan, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 
Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. VALADAO, and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To protect and provide humanitarian assistance to Arme-
nians in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh impacted by 
actions taken by the Government of Azerbaijan, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Armenians 
Against Azerbaijani Aggression Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) In September 2020, Azerbaijan invaded 
Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in conflict in which 
more than 6,500 people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and 
Nagorno-Karabakh were killed. 
(2) According to the United Nations High Com-
missioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Azerbaijan’s 
2020 invasion resulted in the displacement of more 
than 91,000 individuals from Nagorno-Karabakh, 
with the vast majority, primarily women and chil-
dren, living in a ‘‘refugee-like’’ situation in the war’s 
aftermath. 
(3) People displaced by Azerbaijan’s invasion of 
Nagorno-Karabakh continue to have acute humani-
tarian needs, including access to drinking water and 
health care. 
(4) The COVID–19 pandemic compounded 
many of the challenges faced by Armenians dis-
placed from Nagorno-Karabakh. 
(5) Human Rights Watch found that Azer-
baijani forces indiscriminately used cluster muni-
tions and artillery rockets against civilian targets 
and destroyed civilian infrastructure, including hos-
pitals and schools during the 2020 war. 
(6) In September 2022, Azerbaijan unleashed 
another assault on Armenian territory, including the 
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cities of Vardenis, Sotk, Artanish, Ishkhanasar, 
Goris, and Kapan, which killed almost 400 military 
personnel. 
(7) Azerbaijani forces shelled Armenian commu-
nities in September 2022, killing at least 4 civilians, 
injuring 14, and displacing at least 7,600 people, in-
cluding almost 1,500 children and 100 people with 
disabilities. 
(8) In December 2022, Azerbaijan imposed a 
blockade of the Lachin Corridor, a road by which 90 
percent of food consumed by residents of Nagorno- 
Karabakh previously entered the enclave. 
(9) Representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh re-
port that shortages of electricity and gas have 
caused 20 percent of the region’s businesses to close, 
led hospitals to ration power, prevented rural resi-
dents from traveling to hospitals in the capital city 
of Stepanakert, and resulted in children missing 
school. 
(10) The International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) has evacuated 196 patients from 
Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor for 
medical treatment since the blockade’s beginning 
and has helped 422 people to overcome family sepa-
rations resulting from the blockade. 
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