U.S. Capitol to Host First Conference on Ethnic Cleansing of Azerbaijanis in Armenia
BAKU, Azerbaijan - An international conference examining the ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis from Armenian territory will convene at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on June 24, in what organizers say is the first event of its kind to be hosted inside the U.S. Congress.
The conference, titled "The Right of Return and Self-Determination: Double Standards and Selective Approaches," is organized by the Baku Initiative Group. It will bring together experts specializing in the protection of the rights of refugees and national minorities, human rights defenders, international law specialists, and representatives of civil society institutions. Delegates from affected communities and diaspora organizations that have faced violence, discrimination, and persecution based on their ethnicity will also participate.
AZERTAC, Azerbaijan's state news agency, reported the details of the gathering on June 23, the day before the scheduled opening in the U.S. capital.
The event places at its center the experiences of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who were forcibly expelled from their historical lands within the territory of Armenia. Organizers characterize those expulsions as the result of a deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing. Discussions will focus on ensuring that international organizations permanently prioritize recognition of fundamental rights - specifically, the right to a safe, voluntary, and dignified return to historical homelands. The conference frames this not as a bilateral political dispute but as a matter requiring sustained engagement from international bodies mandated to protect refugee and minority rights.
A central element of the agenda involves a legal assessment under international law of the systematic destruction, desecration, and appropriation of the cultural, religious, and historical heritage of the Azerbaijani people remaining in Armenia. Conference sessions will address the erasure or alteration of toponyms, mosques, cemeteries, shrines, and other historic monuments. Participants will explore avenues for bringing these violations before international accountability and monitoring mechanisms within the UN framework, seeking to establish formal channels through which such claims can be examined and adjudicated.
For affected Azerbaijani communities and their diaspora organizations, the Capitol Hill setting carries significant weight. Holding the event inside the U.S. Congress places the issue before policymakers, legal scholars, and international observers in one of the world's most prominent legislative forums. The Baku Initiative Group, as convener, is positioning the gathering as a platform for broad expert exchange aimed at shaping future engagement with international institutions on questions of displacement, heritage protection, and accountability.
The conference arrives as Azerbaijani civil society groups have pressed for wider international acknowledgment of the displacement and its enduring consequences. The agenda reflects those priorities across three distinct areas: establishing recognition of the right of displaced Azerbaijanis to return to their historical homelands, securing legal accountability for the ongoing destruction of cultural and religious heritage on Armenian territory, and advancing these claims through UN-linked monitoring structures.
No formal resolutions or binding commitments from the June 24 proceedings have been announced in advance. The conference is described as a forum for expert discussion rather than a decision-making body, with its principal stated aim being to raise the profile of these issues in an authoritative and internationally visible setting
