[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 797 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 797
Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning Azerbaijani forces'
illegal and unprovoked assault on Armenian territory and insisting upon
the cessation of security assistance to Azerbaijan in accordance with
Federal law.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27, 2022
Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning Azerbaijani forces'
illegal and unprovoked assault on Armenian territory and insisting upon
the cessation of security assistance to Azerbaijan in accordance with
Federal law.
Whereas, on September 13, 2022, Azerbaijani forces mounted an illegal and
unprovoked assault on Armenian territory, including the cities of
Vardenis, Sotk, Artanish, Ishkhanasar, Goris, and Kapan;
Whereas, by September 14, 2022, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
announced a preliminary death toll of more than 100 Armenians;
Whereas the Azerbaijani military fired artillery at Armenian villages along the
border, forcing more than 2,750 civilians, including 370 children and 55
people with disabilities, to evacuate their homes and take shelter;
Whereas, according to Armenia's Ministry of Territorial Administration and
Infrastructure, the Azerbaijani attack damaged 192 residential buildings
in Gegharkunik, Syunik, and Vayots Dzor Provinces;
Whereas, according to the Armenian Ombudsman, Azerbaijani shelling set fire to a
forest in Jermuk, with artillery fire preventing Armenian firefighters
from immediate access to the blaze;
Whereas, according to Prime Minister Pashinyan, Azerbaijani forces illegally
advanced into at least 10 square kilometers of Armenian territory;
Whereas, on the evening of September 14, 2022, Secretary of the Security Council
of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, announced that a ceasefire took hold;
Whereas Azerbaijan's latest attack on Armenian territory and the Armenian people
follows a long pattern of aggression, including during the 2020 Nagorno
Karabakh War, when an attack by Azerbaijani forces ignited a conflict
that killed more than 6,500 people and displaced almost 100,000 ethnic
Armenians;
Whereas Azerbaijan continues to hold at least 35 prisoners of war and 3 civilian
prisoners from the Nagorno Karabakh War and Azerbaijan's recent attack
on Armenia;
Whereas Azerbaijan's attack on Armenia, which was launched on September 13,
2022, is a flagrant violation of Armenia's sovereignty and territorial
integrity, and a violation of international law;
Whereas section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5812 note) prohibits
United States assistance to Azerbaijan ``until the President determines,
and so reports to Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is taking
demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of
force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh'';
Whereas title II of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-115) allows the
President to waive section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act under certain
statutorily defined conditions, including if doing so ``will not
undermine or hamper ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement
between Armenia or Azerbaijan or be used for any offensive purposes
against Armenia'';
Whereas upon exercising such waiver, the President must submit a report to
appropriate congressional committees outlining--
(1) ``the nature and quantity of all training and assistance provided
to the Government of Azerbaijan pursuant to [the waiver],'';
(2) ``the status of the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia
and the impact of United States assistance on that balance''; and
(3) ``the status of negotiations for a peaceful settlement between
Armenia and Azerbaijan and the impact of United States assistance on those
negotiations'';
Whereas, on March 2, 2022, the Government Accountability Office released a
report, which found that the Department of State and the Department of
Defense failed to meet certain statutory reporting requirements to
Congress, including the impact of proposed assistance on the military
balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia;
Whereas the Government Accountability Office found that the Department of State
and the Department of Defense did not document their consideration of
waiver requirements from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2020,
including how the departments determined that assistance would not be
used for offensive purposes against Armenia; and
Whereas despite agreeing with the Government Accountability Office's
recommendations, the Department of State has not demonstrated how it
will adequately report to Congress on statutorily required
considerations for aid to Azerbaijan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns Azerbaijan's illegal and unprovoked attack on
Armenian territory;
(2) urges Azerbaijan to fully adhere to the ceasefire
agreed to on September 14, 2022;
(3) demands that Azerbaijan respect the territorial
integrity of Armenia;
(4) calls for the release of all Armenian prisoners of war
and civilian prisoners held in Azerbaijan;
(5) insists that the Department of State meet all
statutorily required reporting requirements for consideration
of United States assistance to Azerbaijan;
(6) urges the Secretary of State to immediately halt all
security assistance to Azerbaijan;
(7) urges the President to evaluate whether officials of
the Government of Azerbaijan should be subject to sanctions
under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act
(subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328) for human
rights abuses against ethnic Armenians; and
(8) supports the robust provision of humanitarian
assistance to the people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh
affected by Azerbaijan's war of aggression.
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