A resolution requesting information on the Government of Azerbaijan's human rights practices pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 754 Requesting information on the Government of Azerbaijan’s human rights practices pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 22 (legislative day, OCTOBER 19), 2020 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. REED) submitted the following reso- lution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Requesting information on the Government of Azerbaijan’s human rights practices pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Resolved, 1 SECTION 1. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON THE GOVERN- 2 MENT OF AZERBAIJAN’S HUMAN RIGHTS 3 PRACTICES. 4 (a) STATEMENT REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 days 5 after the date of the adoption of this resolution, the Sec- 6 retary of State shall, pursuant to section 502B(c) of the 7 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)), 8 transmit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR754.IS SR754 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 754 IS Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 1 House of Representatives a statement, prepared with the 2 assistance of the Assistant Secretary of State for Democ- 3 racy, Human Rights, and Labor, with respect to Azer- 4 baijan. 5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The statement submitted under 6 subsection (a) shall include the following elements: 7 (1) All the available information about observ- 8 ance of and respect for human rights and funda- 9 mental freedom in Azerbaijan, and a detailed de- 10 scription of practices by the Government of Azer- 11 baijan with respect thereto, including alleged viola- 12 tions of such rights and freedoms by the Govern- 13 ment of Azerbaijan, including— 14 (A) unlawful or arbitrary killings; 15 (B) torture; 16 (C) arbitrary arrest and detention without 17 charges and trial; 18 (D) political prisoners; 19 (E) arbitrary interference with privacy; 20 (F) restrictions on freedom of expression, 21 the press, and the internet; 22 (G) restrictions on freedoms of assembly, 23 association, and movement; 24 (H) refoulement of refugees; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR754.IS SR754 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 754 IS (I) restrictions on political participation; 1 (J) discrimination and violence against 2 women, minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 3 transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; 4 and 5 (K) the worst forms of child labor. 6 (2) The steps the United States Government 7 has taken to— 8 (A) promote respect for and observance of 9 human rights in Azerbaijan and discourage any 10 practices in Azerbaijan that are inimical to 11 internationally recognized human rights; and 12 (B) publicly or privately call attention to, 13 and disassociate the United States and any se- 14 curity assistance provided for Azerbaijan from, 15 such practices. 16 (3) Whether, in the opinion of the Secretary of 17 State, notwithstanding any such practices, extraor- 18 dinary circumstances exist that necessitate a con- 19 tinuation of security assistance for Azerbaijan and, 20 if so, a description of the circumstances and the ex- 21 tent to which the assistance should be continued 22 (subject to such conditions as Congress may impose 23 under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 24 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304)), and all the facts pursuant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR754.IS SR754 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 754 IS to which it is in the national interest of the United 1 States to provide such assistance. 2 (4) Other information, including— 3 (A) all available credible information con- 4 cerning alleged violations of internationally rec- 5 ognized human rights by the Government of 6 Azerbaijan, its armed forces, and associated 7 groups and persons in the context of their ac- 8 tivities in the South Caucasus region, including 9 the denial of the right to life, the infliction of 10 civilian casualties, the displacement of civilian 11 populations, and attacks on civilian infrastruc- 12 ture and houses of worship; 13 (B) the likelihood that United States secu- 14 rity assistance, as defined in section 502B(d) of 15 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 16 2304(d)) and including training and equipment 17 provided under section 333 of title 10, United 18 States Code, has been and will be used in the 19 South Caucasus by the Government of Azer- 20 baijan in a manner inimical to internationally 21 recognized human rights; and 22 (C) a description of the steps the United 23 States has taken to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR754.IS SR754 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 754 IS (i) discourage any practices by the 1 Government of Azerbaijan, its armed 2 forces, or associated groups or persons in 3 the South Caucasus that are inimical to 4 internationally recognized human rights; 5 and 6 (ii) publicly or privately call attention 7 to, and disassociate the United States and 8 any security assistance provided to the 9 Government of Azerbaijan, including train- 10 ing and equipment provided under section 11 333 of title 10, United States Code, from, 12 such practices in the South Caucasus. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Oct 22, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR754.IS SR754 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS