Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting the Republic of Artsakh at all levels of civil society and government and recognizing the people of Artsakh's inalienable right to self-determination.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1203 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting the Republic of Artsakh at all levels of civil society and government and recognizing the people of Artsakh’s inalienable right to self-determination. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 23, 2020 Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. COSTA, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. LAW- RENCE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SIRES, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MENG, Mr. PAS- CRELL, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. BASS, and Mr. LANGEVIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives sup- porting the Republic of Artsakh at all levels of civil society and government and recognizing the people of Artsakh’s inalienable right to self-determination. 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1203 IH Whereas the United States considers any effort to determine the future of the Republic of Artsakh, formerly the Re- public of Nagorno-Karabakh, by other than peaceful means, including acts of aggression, blockades, or threats against civil aviation, a threat to peace; Whereas the United States remains committed to the negotia- tions under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organi- zation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group negotiations toward a durable and demo- cratic resolution of outstanding status and security issues related to the Artsakh Republic; Whereas the Artsakh Republic was one of three parties to the 1994 cease-fire that ended major military hostilities be- tween Artsakh and Azerbaijan, and remains committed to a negotiated, non-violent resolution; Whereas the Artsakh Republic took part in OSCE negotia- tions until 1998, when Azerbaijan blocked its democrat- ically elected representatives from full and direct partici- pation in negotiations regarding its future status and se- curity; Whereas, in response to Azerbaijan aggression against the Armenian people during the 1990s, the United States Congress adopted section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which states: ‘‘United States assistance under this or any other Act (other than assistance under title V of this Act) may not be provided to the Government of Azerbaijan until the President determines, and so reports to the 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’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1203 IH Whereas Azerbaijan, aided by Turkish forces and military supplies, launched a large-scale military offensive against the Line-of-Contact separating Artsakh and Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020, that was in clear violation of the 1994 cease-fire; Whereas Turkish-supported mercenaries were recruited spe- cifically for the purposes of fighting on behalf Azerbaijan in the September 27, 2020, outbreak of violence, and Turkish F–16 fighter jets are suspected of aiding the in- discriminate bombing of large civilian population centers like Stepanakert and Shoushi that have endangered the lives of thousands of innocent civilians and displaced thousands more; Whereas the September 27, 2020, military offensive by Azer- baijan represents its third large-scale attack on Artsakh since the signing of the 1994 cease-fire, and the bom- bastic rhetoric from Turkish President Erdogan and Az- erbaijani President Aliyev has clearly shown they do not desire a peaceful outcome of the conflict that results in ethnic Armenians remaining in the Karabakh region; Whereas the Artsakh Republic has developed democratic in- stitutions, fostered a pluralist political system, and, over the past quarter century, held parliamentary and Presi- dential elections that have been rated as free and fair by international observers, despite the constant threat of military incursion by Azerbaijani forces; Whereas international recognition of a country’s right to self- determination is the only way to ensure its people will be able to voice their legitimate concerns and lobby for the peaceful settlement of conflicts on the world stage; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1203 IH Whereas the Artsakh Republic, along with the United States, Armenia, and the OSCE, support cease-fire monitoring proposals to strengthen the 1994 cease-fire, including— (1) an agreement from all sides to not deploy snip- ers, heavy arms, or new weaponry along the line of con- tact; (2) the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact; and (3) the deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor the cease-fire; Whereas current Department of State policies and practices place self-imposed restrictions on travel and communica- tions between the United States and Artsakh, limiting oversight of United States taxpayer-funded assistance programs and discouraging the open dialogue and dis- course that can contribute to a peaceful resolution of Artsakh-related status and security issues; and Whereas open dialogue and communications contribute to greater international understanding and facilitate more effective conflict resolution: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) condemns the September 27, 2020, military 2 offensive launched by Azerbaijani and Turkish- 3 backed forces on Artsakh; 4 (2) calls upon all parties involved in the conflict 5 to withdraw to the initial positions as of September 6 27, 2020, to honor any negotiated cease-fire, to halt 7 any attacks on civilian populations, and allow unfet- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 1203 IH tered access for humanitarian and emergency aid to 1 civilians in need of such assistance; 2 (3) urges the President of the United States to 3 follow the congressional intent of section 907 of the 4 Freedom Support Act and withhold any further as- 5 sistance to Azerbaijan until they end military oper- 6 ations against Artsakh; 7 (4) affirms that the only peaceful, long-lasting 8 resolution to this conflict will come from inter- 9 national recognition of the Republic of Artsakh; 10 (5) upholds its commitment to supporting ac- 11 tions that encourage visits and communication be- 12 tween officials from the United States and Artsakh 13 at all levels, including cabinet-level national security 14 officials, general officers, and other executive branch 15 officials, to travel to Artsakh and openly and directly 16 communicate with their Artsakh counterparts; 17 (6) encourages open communication, meetings, 18 and other direct contacts between officials of 19 Artsakh and the executive and legislative branches 20 of the United States Government, representatives of 21 State and local governments, and representatives of 22 American civil society; and 23 (7) calls for the full and direct participation of 24 the democratically elected Government of the Repub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 1203 IH lic of Artsakh in all OSCE and other negotiations 1 regarding its future. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Oct 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1203.IH HR1203 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS