Religious Freedom Watchdog Spotlights Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenians

ANCA Welcomes USCIRF Recommendations for Sanctions, Right of Return, and Heritage Protections for Artsakh Armenians

WASHINGTON, DC – A hearing of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) spotlighted Azerbaijan’s campaign of ethnic cleansing of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), the continued detention and abuse of Armenian hostages, and the unrealized right of Armenian Christians to pilgrimage to their holy sites, many of which Azerbaijan has already destroyed. The session, which followed a February USCIRF fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan, included powerful testimony detailing war crimes, religious oppression, and systemic efforts to erase Armenia’s historic presence in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The June 5th hearing, titled “Religious Freedom Conditions in Azerbaijan,” featured participation from USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck and Commissioners Vicky Hartzler, Mohamed Elsanousi, and Asif Mahmood. The panel of expert witnesses included Audrey L. Altstadt, Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Felix Corley, Editor of Forum 18 News Service; Arzu Geybulla, Independent Journalist and Co-founder of the Free Voices Collective; and Husik Ghulyan, Lead Researcher at Caucasus Heritage Watch.

ANCA Welcomes Policy Recommendations for Sanctions and Monitoring

The ANCA welcomed the hearing and the Commission’s 2025 Annual Report recommendations, which urge the State Department to keep Azerbaijan on its Special Watch List and to apply U.S. sanctions, dispatch international monitoring missions, and condition aid on improvements in religious freedom.

“This hearing pointed a global spotlight on Azerbaijan’s crimes at a critical juncture, underscoring the urgent imperative for the United States to stop enabling Baku’s genocidal policies and start holding the Aliyev regime accountable,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The USCIRF recommendations chart a clear path toward accountability and justice for the Armenians of Artsakh.”

Commissioners Urge U.S. Government Action on Religious Freedom Violations

In her opening remarks, Commissioner Vicky Hartzler emphasized the urgent need for U.S. action, offering three key USCIRF policy recommendations, starting off with a call for sanctions on Azerbaijani government agencies and officials involved in severe violations of religious freedom. “Until Azerbaijan makes necessary reforms and holds accountable perpetrating officials who arrest and abuse people for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief, the U.S. government must use its sanctions authority,” stated Hartzler.

She further called for an international observer mission to Artsakh and surrounding areas, stating: “This is not only important in deterring Azerbaijan from destroying Armenian religious sites, but also to pursue a just reconciliation and recognize the impact the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has had on both Armenian and Azerbaijani, Christian and Muslim, religious and cultural heritage.”

And finally, Commissioner Hartzler urged Congress to condition US military aid to Azerbaijan on improvements in religious freedom and to continue elevated scrutiny on Azerbaijan’s actions. “The religious freedom situation in Azerbaijan will not improve on its own. It will require a concerted effort by the U.S. government,” state Hartzler.

USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck reflected on the broader implications: “Many Armenian religious sites, including historic churches, cemeteries, and other artifacts, have been destroyed, damaged, and remain under threat of destruction or are being repurposed for other religious traditions.”

Commissioner Asif Mahmood emphasized the need for accountability and transparency, particularly regarding Armenian prisoners of war and other hostages: “I know the fundamental rights of Muslims in Azerbaijan are also being violated, but right now I’m going to more focus on especially Armenians who are under their prison.”

Commissioner Mohamed Elsanousi raised concerns over religious pilgrimage rights: “It is very important, critical, so that Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, who are like 100,000 people, who are now refugees in the Republic of Armenia, would have access to pilgrimage…There should be some kind of mechanism that should allow Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to visit their cemeteries and also practice their religions in those churches.”

Testimonies Reveal Targeted Abuse of Armenian Prisoners and Sites

Felix Corley described the systemic repression targeting Armenian religious prisoners: “Ethnic Armenians who were captured when Azerbaijan overran the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2023 faced torture and denigration of their perceived Christian affiliation. Some have been denied access to requested Christian literature, tattoos of crosses on prisoners’ hands appear to be burnt off the skin. Released prisoners of war recount beatings and ethnic slurs based on perceived religious affiliation. Guards have seized neck and wrist crosses from prisoners, broken them and scattered them on the floor.”

Satellite Evidence Confirms Widespread Heritage Destruction in Karabakh

Caucasus Heritage Watch lead researcher Husik Ghulyan cited satellite evidence of targeted cultural erasure: “Since the start of our monitoring mission in 2021, we have established that Azerbaijan has destroyed 14 heritage sites, including historic churches and cemeteries, and damaged 14 more. We currently assess 30 cultural properties as facing immediate threat of damage and or destruction.”

Ghulyan warned that Azerbaijan’s redevelopment efforts in Karabakh are accelerating the destruction: “The pace of heritage abuse appeared to accelerate in 2024 as Azerbaijan’s development work gained speed. Much of the damage and destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Karabakh to date has been in connection with road work and redevelopment.”

The 2025 USCIRF Annual Report referenced findings from Freedom House and Caucasus Heritage Watch, noting: “Freedom House found Azerbaijan had carried out a ‘comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnic Armenian population and historical and cultural presence’… and concluded Azerbaijan’s actions constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The report urged U.S. officials to impose targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for violations, the deployment of international observers to document endangered Armenian religious and cultural sites, and legislation to condition U.S. aid on measurable improvements in religious freedom.

USCIRF Commissioners Blocked from Visiting Nagorno Karabakh during their February Fact-Finding Mission to Azerbaijan

During a May 16th USCIRF Spotlight podcast, Commission Chair Stephen Schneck, Commissioner Mohamed Elsanousi, and Commissioner Vicky Hartzler spoke with Director of Research and Policy Guillermo Cantor about their February travels to Azerbaijan.  Commissioner Hartzler confirmed that the delegation could not travel to Nagorno Karabakh.  “And we didn’t hear plans underway to provide compensation or the right of return for the 120,000 Armenian Christians who were militarily displaced, and some say ethnically cleansed, from that area in September of 2023,” explained Hartzler.

ANCA Urges Continued Advocacy for Artsakh Armenians’ Rights

The ANCA continues to advocate for the right of return for Armenians of Artsakh, the release of all Armenian POWs and political prisoners, accountability for Azerbaijani war crimes and religious persecution through the use of international sanctions and other mechanisms, and to protect Armenian cultural heritage that Azerbaijan now threatens to destroy in occupied Artsakh.

Armenian Americans can visit anca.org/action to contact their Members of Congress and urge support for legislative and diplomatic measures to hold Azerbaijan accountable and defend religious freedom.

The full USCIRF hearing is available below:

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