The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress will host a hearing on the ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, released his personal Expert Opinion on August 7, stating that “there is a reasonable basis to believe that a Genocide is being committed against Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023” and emphasizing that under the Genocide Conventions all states have a “duty to prevent” genocide.

At the hearing, Ocampo will present his Expert Opinion on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. David Phillips will testify on facts relevant to gathering the intent of the government of Azerbaijan, including as available on the web page “Atrocities Artsakh.”

The hearing will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media.

Since December 12, 2022, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by Azerbaijan. Baku tightened the blockade on June 15, 2023, banning emergency relief supplies that were carried out by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross through the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world. The move aggravated the shortages of food, medicine and other essential items experienced by the region’s population. On August 15, Karabakh Human Rights Defender’s office reported the first case of death from starvation.