US Congressman Adam Schiff Urge Joe Biden to Convene the UNSC Emergency Session

US Congressman Adam Schiff addressed a letter to the US President Joe Biden requesting to convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Dear President Biden,

Since I wrote to you on June 8 expressing my deep concern over Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to the outside world, the crisis has deteriorated significantly and demands your personal and immediate attention.

Since December 2022, the people of Artsakh have been living under Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade with devastating effects, with 120,000 individuals denied access to food, water, medical supplies and services, gas, and consistent electricity. While previously the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was able to provide limited deliveries of essential food and medicine and facilitate transport in medical emergencies, Azerbaijan weeks ago cut off access to even the ICRC.

The population of Artsakh is in urgent need of assistance, including those most vulnerable – pregnant women, children, and the elderly and disabled. Life-saving medications and baby formula are almost gone. Health authorities in Artsakh have reported a surge in the disease incidence and death rate related to malnutrition, lack of medicines, and lack of emergency medical services/transport.
I therefore urge you to take the following steps:

•Convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the crisis in Artsakh while the United States holds the presidency.

•Direct the U.S. Mission to the UN to lead a UN Security Council resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice, providing for the deployment of a team of UN experts to Artsakh to gather information and produce an independent report on the human rights and humanitarian situation, and sanction Azerbaijan for its flagrant violations of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

•Direct USAID and the Department of Defense to assess options for the United States to assist in the delivery of aid to Artsakh by land or airlift to prevent the very real threat of starvation and avoid the preventable deaths of innocent civilians.

•Personally call Aliyev and urge him to lift the blockade. Warn him that there will be consequences, including the implementation of sanctions, visa restrictions, and cutting off U.S. foreign assistance, should the blockade continue. Many of us in Congress believe that Azerbaijan should have been cut off from U.S. aid a long time ago.

I stand ready to provide any support to your Administration’s efforts to address this crisis, including facilitating a meeting between your administration and national Armenian community stakeholders who can share first- hand accounts of the catastrophic situation in Artsakh.

We have pledged “never again,” Mr. President, but today the people of Artsakh face the real threat of ethnic cleansing and genocide at the hands of an autocratic Azerbaijani regime.”