Towards the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, combating authoritarian aggression has taken heart stage in Washington’s international coverage agenda. However given the West’s inaction within the face of yet one more Azerbaijani assault on Nagorno-Karabakh this week—which resulted within the dying of not less than 32 folks and the pressured displacement of a number of thousand extra—it’s clear that not all crises are made equal.
Throughout U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks on Tuesday earlier than the United Nations Normal Meeting, he requested “if we abandon the core rules of the US to appease an aggressor, can any member state of this physique really feel assured that they are going to be protected?” But simply hours prior, Azerbaijan launched an unprovoked assault on Nagorno-Karabakh following 9 months of blockading the area’s 120,000 indigenous Armenians. The blockade was already inflicting crucial shortages of meals, medication, gasoline, and different fundamental requirements—forcing Karabakh’s Armenians right into a place of dependence and subservience. Beneath these situations, many Armenians will see no possibility however to depart their houses. But when Azerbaijan’s report of detaining civilians at its navy checkpoint tells us something, it’s that the power for Armenians to flee persecution isn’t assured.
A ceasefire introduced on Wednesday seems to have largely introduced the most recent assault to a halt. But the most recent combating is a disaster the U.S. had each alternative to forestall however spent months ignoring—prioritizing the preservation of power ties with authoritarian Azerbaijan over the approaching menace to Armenian lives. The U.S. didn’t merely flip a blind eye to Azerbaijan’s longstanding makes an attempt to impose its will on the Armenian folks by way of hunger and power—it repeatedly emboldened and legitimized Azerbaijan’s coercive diplomacy by refusing to carry Azerbaijan accountable for its blockade. In standing by as Armenia was pressured to have interaction in peace talks with a gun to its head, the U.S. appeared content material with ready till the Armenians of Karabakh have been determined sufficient to undergo Azerbaijan’s phrases.
However the U.S. can study from its previous errors and clarify to Azerbaijan that its acts of aggression is not going to be rewarded. With negotiations between Azerbaijan and Karabakh’s Armenians on the horizon, the destiny and standing of the area’s Armenian inhabitants stays unsure. What is for certain, nevertheless, is that Azerbaijan can’t be trusted with their safety.
Protesters conflict with police as they name on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign in central Yerevan on Sept. 19. Azerbaijan launched a navy operation towards the the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area, warning it might “proceed till the tip” within the territory.Karen Minasyan—AFP/Getty Pictures
Previous to Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, worldwide authorized consultants together with former Worldwide Legal Court docket Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and former U.N. Particular Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide Juan Méndez warned that Azerbaijan’s actions constituted a violation of the United Nations Genocide Conference. These considerations stay no much less pertinent right this moment—and the dangers of additional tragedy stay extraordinarily excessive ought to the worldwide neighborhood fail to take motion and maintain Azerbaijan to account.
Throughout a current U.S. Senate International Relations Committee listening to, Appearing Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Yuri Kim vowed that “the US is not going to countenance any motion or effort—short-term or long-term—to ethnically cleanse or commit different atrocities towards the Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Learn Extra: Column: Don’t Simply Bear in mind the Armenian Genocide. Stop It From Occurring Once more
Regardless of this, the U.S. didn’t match these phrases with any significant motion, an strategy that would create a credibility disaster and embolden different would-be aggressors. To rectify this, the Biden Administration ought to droop navy help to Baku through the enforcement of statutory restrictions outlined in Part 907 of the FREEDOM Assist Act, which was enacted within the early Nineteen Nineties in response to Azerbaijan’s first conflict on Nagorno-Karabakh and humanitarian blockade towards Armenian civilians. Certainly, that is what the chairs of the Senate International Relations and Armed Providers Committees, Bob Menendez and Jack Reed, urged in a current letter to Secretary Blinken.
For many years, successive U.S. administrations have waived Part 907 restrictions on nationwide safety grounds. The State Division says it’s reviewing help to Azerbaijan however refuses to publicly implement restrictions out of worry this may undermine peace talks with Armenia and push Baku into Moscow’s arms. But when withholding the enforcement of those restrictions was meant to compel behavioral change in Baku, then clearly this technique has failed.
The U.S. should additionally instantly goal Azerbaijani officers complicit within the perpetration of human rights abuses with sanctions, together with beneath the World Magnitsky Act. The Biden Administration can use Thursday’s upcoming emergency assembly of the United Nations Safety Council convened by France to pursue sturdy ensures for Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians. This should embody a global peacekeeping power on the bottom and a humanitarian mission that ensures Armenians aren’t left on the mercy of Azerbaijan.
How the U.S. responds to Azerbaijan’s newest assault on Nagorno-Karabakh shall be a take a look at of its dedication to not solely combating authoritarian expansionism—but additionally within the responsibility to forestall additional atrocities. A failure to vary course wouldn’t solely threaten the survival of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians, however ship a harmful sign to despots the world over.