WHEREAS, On December 7, 2023, Azerbaijan released 32 prisoners of war (POWs) who had been held captive since 2020 and Armenia released two Azerbaijani soldiers held since April 2023, signaling that a peace agreement between the two countries would finally be reached. However, at least 36 Armenian prisoners remain in Azerbaijani custody, with over 80 Armenian soldiers and civilians still missing. Additionally, Azerbaijan has held eight former military and political leaders of Artsakh captive as political prisoners since September 2023; and

WHEREAS, The Third Geneva Convention, Article 118, to which Azerbaijan is a signatory, requires the release of POWs and captured civilians upon the cessation of hostilities. Despite Azerbaijan’s international legal obligations and a November 2020 ceasefire agreement, they have not released all detainees and instead continue to detain new POWs, hostages, and captured civilians; and

WHEREAS, In September 2020, Azerbaijan, with support from Turkey, launched a military assault against the Armenian people of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, also known as Artsakh. And in December 2022, Azerbaijan began a blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh to the world through the Republic of Armenia. This blockade cut off over 120,000 Armenians, including 30,000 children and 20,000 elderly people, from food, medicine, and other critical supplies, thereby creating extreme hardship leading to the death of many; and

WHEREAS, Following nearly 10 months of an illegal blockade, the Armenians of Artsakh endured a vicious, large-scale assault by the Aliyev regime of Azerbaijan in September 2023, resulting in the forced displacement of more than 100,000 Armenians from Artsakh; and

WHEREAS, In response to these continuous acts of violence and violations of humanitarian law, United States Representative Adam Schiff introduced House Resolution 861, calling on Azerbaijan to immediately comply with international commitments regarding the release and treatment of prisoners of war, hostages, and other detained persons. The resolution calls for the implementation of Global Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for abuses against POWs and credible investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators in these cases. It also calls for the suspension of United States assistance to Azerbaijan and full implementation of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act of 1992 in light of Azerbaijan’s ongoing violations of human rights; and

WHEREAS, Over the past several years, Azerbaijan has intentionally destroyed Armenian cultural and religious sites during times of war and in times of relative peace. In some cases, Azerbaijani soldiers have placed Azerbaijani flags on destroyed Armenian cultural sites and posted pictures and videos of the destruction on social media. Azerbaijan is now in control of hundreds of Armenian churches, monuments, museums, and cross-stones in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, some of which date to the earliest centuries of Christianity. Azerbaijan’s goal of cleansing the region of its historic Armenian roots has included the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious sites; and

WHEREAS, The County of Los Angeles is home to the greatest number of Armenians outside of Armenia itself, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion on January 9, 2024, to stand in solidarity with the Armenian people; now, therefore, be it