U.S. Religious Freedom Report highlights destruction of Armenian heritage in Artsakh

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom 2025 Annual Report highlights the systematic destruction of Armenian religious and cultural heritage in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

According to the Artsakh Monument Watch, pages 46–48 of the report detail severe restrictions on religious freedom in Azerbaijan and document recent satellite-confirmed destruction of Armenian heritage sites, including a 19th-century church and two cemeteries, by the Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW).

The report references a 2024 Freedom House assessment stating that Azerbaijan conducted a “systematic campaign” during the 2020 and 2023 conflicts to erase Armenian presence from Nagorno-Karabakh, actions deemed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Key recommendations include:

• Maintaining Azerbaijan on the Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom.
• Imposing targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani officials, including those from the the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Main Department for Combating Organized Crime (also known as Bandotde).
• Facilitating an onsite visit by an independent international observer, such as the UN, to Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories to inspect and document an inventory of cultural and religious heritage.

The report urges the U.S. Congress to hold hearings on Azerbaijan’s religious freedom violations, building on prior sessions by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

International organizations, including the Council of Europe, the UN Committee Against Torture and the European Parliament, have condemned Azerbaijan’s destruction of Armenian heritage and broader human rights abuses.

In June 2024, over 40 U.S. lawmakers urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise the issue of destroyed Artsakh heritage in all diplomatic talks with Azerbaijan. Earlier, in September 2024, Rep. Chris Smith led a congressional hearing focused on endangered religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh.

On December 29, 2023, the U.S. State Department again placed Azerbaijan on the Special Watch List for egregious religious freedom violations.