[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 540 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 540
Requesting information on Azerbaijan's human rights practices pursuant
to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 1, 2024
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Peters, Mr. Rubio, Mr.
Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Fetterman)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Requesting information on Azerbaijan's human rights practices pursuant
to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
Resolved,
SECTION 1. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON AZERBAIJAN'S HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES.
(a) Statement Requested.--The Senate requests that the Secretary of
State, not later than 30 days after the date of the adoption of this
resolution, transmit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate, pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)), a statement, prepared in collaboration with
the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
and the Office of the Legal Adviser, regarding Azerbaijan's human
rights practices.
(b) Elements.--The statement submitted under subsection (a) shall
include the following elements:
(1) All available information about the observance and
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
Azerbaijan, including information concerning alleged violations
of internationally recognized human rights by the Government of
Azerbaijan, including--
(A) unlawful or arbitrary killings;
(B) torture;
(C) cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment of detainees;
(D) political prisoners;
(E) arbitrary arrest or detention;
(F) the displacement of ethnic Armenians from
Nagorno Karabakh;
(G) restrictions on freedom of assembly,
association, and movement;
(H) pervasive problems with the independence of the
judiciary;
(I) forced disappearances;
(J) serious restrictions on freedom of speech,
expression, and the media;
(K) severe restrictions on political participation;
(L) discrimination against women and gender-based
violence;
(M) restrictions on religious freedom;
(N) serious restrictions on internet freedom;
(O) existence of the worst forms of child labor;
and
(P) destruction of religious and cultural sites.
(2) A description of the steps that the United States
Government has taken--
(A) to promote respect for and observance of human
rights in Azerbaijan and by the Government of
Azerbaijan, including in the context of the conflict
with Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh);
(B) to discourage any practices in Azerbaijan that
are inimical to internationally recognized human
rights; and
(C) to publicly or privately call attention to, and
disassociate the United States and any security
assistance provided for the Government of Azerbaijan
from, any practices described in subparagraph (B).
(3) An assessment from the Secretary of State,
notwithstanding any practices described in paragraph (2)(B),
whether extraordinary circumstances exist that necessitate a
continuation of security assistance for Azerbaijan.
(4) If such circumstances exist, a description of the
circumstances and the extent to which security assistance
should be continued (subject to such conditions as Congress may
impose under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2304)).
(5) Other information, including--
(A) an assessment from the Secretary of State of
the likelihood that United States security assistance
(as defined in section 502B(d) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(d))) has or will
be used in support of Azerbaijani activities related to
the conflict with Armenia, aggression against Nagorno-
Karabakh (Artsakh), and the blockade of the Lachin
Corridor;
(B) a description and assessment of the actions
that the United States Government is taking to ensure
end use monitoring protocols for all weapons sold or
transferred to Azerbaijan;
(C) an assessment of the impact of United States
assistance provided to Azerbaijan over the past 10
years has had on the balance of power between
Azerbaijan and Armenia, and on efforts to negotiate a
durable and lasting peace settlement between Armenia
and Azerbaijan;
(D) a description of the United States Government's
efforts in Azerbaijan to adhere to the prohibitions in
section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2378d) and section 362 of title 10, United
States Code, against the provision of foreign
assistance to security units against which there are
credible allegations of human rights violations
(commonly referred to as the ``Leahy laws'') and to
ensure that no units implicated in gross violations of
human rights receive United States assistance,
including information on which units have been rejected
in the Leahy vetting process;
(E) an assessment from the Secretary of State of
whether ethnic cleansing or genocidal acts have taken
or are taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh; and
(F) a determination, within 30 days of passage of
this resolution, as to whether Azerbaijani officials
found to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have
directly or indirectly engaged in, human rights abuses
listed in paragraph (1) meet the criteria for sanctions
and--
(i) a description of any actions that the
United States Government is taking to implement
sanctions, including sanctions under the Global
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22
U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) and section 7031(c) of
the Department of State, Foreign Operations,
and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020
(division G of Public Law 116-94; 133 Stat.
2864), to hold accountable Azerbaijani
officials responsible for gross violations of
human rights or significant corruption; or
(ii) a justification for why sanctions have
not been imposed on individuals found to meet
the criteria for sanctions under existing law.
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