Hearings
***Congressional Hearing Set for Tues., April 29***'Rep. Smith to chair bipartisan hearing on human rights in Azerbaijan violations'– U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, will co-chair a bipartisan congressional hearing on the state of human rights issues in the Republic of Azerbaijan since the COP 29 UN Climate Change Conference, which took place in Baku in November 2024 with Azerbaijan as host government. Before the conference, Azerbaijan’s role to host the event was viewed as an opportunity for the government to showcase itself and improve its international image. Though the government made an effort to do so, there were nonetheless reports of increased repression in the run-up to and after the conference. According to the human rights group Freedom House, “Power in Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime remains heavily concentrated in the hands of Ilham Aliyev, who has served as president since 2003, and his extended family. Corruption is rampant, and the formal political opposition has been weakened by years of persecution. The authorities have carried out an extensive crackdown on civil liberties in recent years... .” WHAT: The hearing will look at the Government of Azerbaijan’s human rights violations against those who oppose the government and its policies, including those abroad through transnational repression, and the relation between corruption and human rights abuses. It will also examine rights abuses against ethnic Armenians, including political prisoners and POWs. Since the government of Azerbaijan conducted a military operation to gain full control over Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, virtually all ethnic Armenians left Azerbaijan due to the government’s record of anti-Armenian incitement and atrocities. Witnesses will offer recommendations for Congress.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 29 at 10:30 a.m. WHERE: Room 2360 in the Rayburn House Office Building (third floor). For the most recent version of this advisory, click on: ### |