Democratic senators are calling on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to detail the human rights abuses committed by Turkey and Azerbaijan. These are two resolutions, one for each country separately, which require the state secretary to detail violations throughout the south Caucasus, within their countries. In fact, in the case of Turkey, US lawmakers go a step further by calling for Ankara’s activities in Syria, Iraq and Libya to be considered at the same time.
Of particular importance is the fact that in the two resolutions are intended to link human rights abuses with the sale of US weapons systems and the provision of military assistance. Senators want to know if US security assistance has played a role in human rights abuses. In this light, they call on the US state secretary to inform them whether there are grounds for limiting or ending military aid and arms sales to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Both resolutions were introduced by Senators Robert Menendez, Bob Casey, Ed Markey, Dick Derbin, Cory Booker and Jack Reed and invoked statutory authority. This means that they can be put to the vote directly in the plenary of the Senate without prior discussion in the Foreign Affairs Committee. Nevertheless, they can also be blocked before they reach the plenary session by the leader of the majority.
The United States cannot continue providing security assistance and arms to Azerbaijan and Turkey, said Senator Bob Menendez, stressing that the two countries are increasingly moving away from peace in the region. “This resolution pushes back against Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s human rights abuses and paves the way to stop arming two governments that so often use their security forces to harm innocent people,” he said.
Source: ANA-MPA
