Thanks to all of your emails and phone calls to your Members of Congress, a lot is happening at the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) this week.
This Wednesday, there is an HFAC subcommittee hearing on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh, which you may attend in person or view live online. Witness U.S. Administration officials give testimony and answer tough questions on how the US government can help protect Armenians at risk in Azerbaijan.
This Thursday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will markup and possibly pass the Uyghur Policy Act of 2023 (H.R. 2766).
Please keep up the pressure by contacting your Members of Congress today on all four of our priority cases of genocide and other mass atrocities.
Uyghurs in China
Click here to tell your Members of Congress to support and co-sponsor the Uyghur Policy Act.
The Uyghur Policy Act: The Uyghur Policy Act was introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives (H.R. 2766) by Representatives Young Kim (R-CA) and Ami Bera (D-CA) and the U.S. Senate (S.1252) by Senator Marco Rubio (R, FL). The Uyghur Policy Act:
- Advocates for increased U.S. support for the Uyghur diaspora and better conditions for Uyghurs suffering from human rights abuses in East Turkistan;
- Requires the Department of State to develop a strategy to gain access to detention facilities and secure the release of detained Uyghurs during diplomatic meetings with CCP officials;
- Mandates Uyghur language training for Foreign Service Officers and assigns at least one Uyghur-speaking FSO to each U.S. diplomatic and consular mission in China, Turkey, and other nations with Uyghur populations;
- Directs the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to oppose any motion that would prevent consideration of Uyghur and East Turkistan issues in UN activities.
H.R. 2766 now has 100 cosponsors. Check here to see if your Congressperson has signed on. S.1252 has four cosponsors, you can check who here.
Click here to tell your Members of Congress to support and co-sponsor S.Res.20 and H.Res.86 on Burma.
House Resolution 86 and Senate Resolution 20 : The House resolution was authored by U.S. Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Claudia Tenney (R-NY). The Senate version was introduced by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Todd Young (R-IN). Both resolutions are bipartisan, condemn the military coup in Myanmar (Burma) and call for a return to democratic governance and respect for civil liberties. The resolution makes clear that the Burmese military must be held accountable for engaging in mass atrocities, including detaining more than 10,000 people for the crime of expressing basic freedoms, and the killings of nearly 3,000 civilians. The resolutions call on the Biden Administration to:
- Impose sanctions on Burmese military-owned or military-controlled companies, such as Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE);
- Work with the United Nations and ASEAN countries to delegitimize the military;
- Empower and assist the National Unity Government of Myanmar, the National Unity Consultative Council, and the Civil Disobedience Movement.
S.Res.20 has 15 cosponsors. Check to see if your senators have signed on here. It is currently sitting in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The House version has 39 cosponsors, check here to see if yours has signed on.
Armenians at risk in Azerbaijan
Click here to tell your Members of Congress to stand up for Armenians at risk in Azerbaijan.
Supporting Armenians Against Azerbaijani Aggression Act in both the Senate (S.2900) and the House (H.R.5683). This legislation:
- Condemns Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and calls upon Azerbaijan to lift its blockade, allow the delivery of U.S. and international humanitarian assistance, and release all Armenian POWs, in addition to authorizing multi-year appropriations of direct U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh and for energy, science, and military programs in Armenia;
- Authorizes President Biden to enact U.S. sanctions against President Ilham Aliyev and other senior Azerbaijani officials;
- Repeals the waiver authority for section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, banning most assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan;
- Provides a one-time authorization to appropriate funds for the Department of State for Foreign Military Financing program assistance for the Republic of Armenia;
- Provides a three-year authorization to appropriate money to carry out activities to support the energy sector of the Republic of Armenia; and
- Provides a five-year authorization to appropriate funds for activities promoting U.S.-Armenian cooperation on science and technology.
S. 2900 has seven cosponsors. Check for your senators here. H.R. 5683 has 19 cosponsors. Check for yours here
Sudan
Click here to tell your Members of Congress to support and co-sponsor H.Res.585 on Sudan.
House Resolution 585: A bipartisan group of Members of the House of Representatives introduced House Resolution 585 (H.Res.585) “Condemning the conflict in Sudan and supporting the people of Sudan, and for other purposes.” The bipartisan resolution would:
- Call on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to immediately adhere to previously signed ceasefire agreements;
- Condemn the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan;
- Recognize U.S. armed forces, allied armed forces, and private organizations who have worked to safely evacuate U.S. embassy personnel and citizens from Sudan; and,
- Direct the SAF and RSF to give control of the Sudanese government to civilians under democratic rule.
This resolution has 33 cosponsors. You can check for your representative here.
Every day we hear from people on Capitol Hill that your messages are getting through! You are making a difference for people all over the world!