Azerbaijan condemns US congress hearing on human rights as biased

In response to the recent hearing titled "Human rights in Azerbaijan since the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh" held by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress, Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly condemned the event, labeling it as biased and politically motivated.

Speaking to local media, Hajizada criticized the hearing for misrepresenting the situation in Azerbaijan, accusing certain members of the US Congress of pursuing personal interests over US national security, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. 

“This is another manifestation of how some groups in the US Congress openly misrepresent the situation in Azerbaijan under the disguise of human rights, while openly demonstrating disrespect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” he stated.

The spokesperson further expressed concern over the participation of former separatist regime representatives in the hearing, describing it as "beyond all imagination." He noted the irony of US Congress members organizing such events while presenting themselves as advocates for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.

Hajizada emphasized that such activities threaten Azerbaijan-US relations, stating, “Such an event that openly distorts and falsifies all the facts related to Azerbaijan is aimed at deteriorating Azerbaijan-United States relations.”

In defense of Azerbaijan’s recent military operations, Hajizada reiterated that the country’s actions were in full compliance with international law. “Azerbaijan’s anti-terror measures of last year were in full compliance with international humanitarian law, and Azerbaijan has never targeted the civilian population,” he affirmed. He contrasted this with Armenia’s nearly 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani territories, during which large-scale ethnic cleansing and destruction of cultural monuments occurred—acts that he noted have never been condemned by the US Congress.

Hajizada also rejected attempts to frame the conflict in religious terms, warning that this approach could hinder peace and reconciliation efforts in the region. He dismissed the claims raised at the hearing as baseless, accusing certain individuals and organizations, influenced by the Armenian diaspora, of propagating misinformation.

He also called out the misrepresentation of Azerbaijan’s geographic names during the hearing, describing the use of the term “Artsakh” as a violation of international standards. “The so-called ‘Artsakh’ referred to in the hearing was nothing more than an illegal entity established by Armenia as a result of military occupation and ethnic cleansing of around 750,000 Azerbaijani civilians,” he stated, adding that such terminology contradicts US law regarding the use of geographic names.

Concluding his remarks, Hajizada called on US leadership to address these actions, stating, “We call on the US Congress leadership to prevent such actions from undermining bilateral Azerbaijan-US relations.” He also urged the US Department of State to take appropriate measures against events driven by Armenian lobby groups in the US Congress.

Earlier, on September 19, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress held hearings on the topic of "Human rights in Azerbaijan since the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh," during which numerous accusations were made against Azerbaijan.