News

By David L. Phillips
Tuesday, February 23, 2021

The Biden administration is focused on human rights abuses of Uighur in Xinjiang. But Uighur are not the only ethnic or religious group targeted by China’s security state. Other Muslims and Christians are persecuted, as are Tibetans who have suffered decades of draconian rule by the Chinese Communist Party (CPC). While the U.S. may seek to influence China’s treatment of Tibetans through its Special Coordinator on Tibetan Issues, efforts to protect and promote Tibetan culture can have the greatest impact when undertaken with allies in Asia and Europe.

Friday, December 4, 2020

By David L. Phillips

By David L. Phillips and Salpi S. Kevorkian
Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Azerbaijan armed forces combined with Turkish-backed jihadists from Syria and Libya attacked Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on September 27,2020. To date, more than 2,300 Armenians including civilians have died as a result of Azerbaijan’s aggression. The failure of diplomacy and the international community’s unwillingness to protect civilians opened space for Russia and Azerbaijan to impose an agreement that authorizes Russian “peacekeepers.” The events in Artsakh are another example of the international community’s failure to protect humanity.  

Friday, November 13, 2020
This urgent appeal from scholars at academic institutions calls for U.S. involvement and mediation as an imperative step towards resolving the crisis in the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). We deplore the recent agreement between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan that Armenia and Artsakh were forced to sign and that circumvents the Minsk Group. Without U.S. engagement, we believe the threat of continued ethnic cleansing and genocide remains.
Thursday, November 12, 2020

The Program on Peacebuilding and Rights (PBHR) at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) launched today a research project on “Human Rights and Foreign Terrorist Activities in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).” In partnership with the Human Rights Ombudsman for Artsakh, the project will draw on primary sources documenting crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed by Azerbaijani armed forces and Turkish-backed Islamist fighters against Armenians. Project arrangements were facilitated by the Armenian Assembly of America.