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Artsakh Genocide Action Toolkit 

About us

Yerazad is an action coalition dedicated to Armenian liberation and building transnational solidarity. We center and uplift ALL Armenians, including those who are mixed race, LGBTQIA2S, and undocumented.

Find Your Representatives

Before taking action, you need to find out who your representatives are and what their contact information is.

Find your Congressional representative here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Find your Senate representatives here:

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm 

Is your Rep part of the Armenian Caucus?

List of Armenian Caucus Members: https://anca.org/armenian-caucus/

If your representative is an Armenian Caucus Member, replace the first sentence of our call script with the following:

Dear [name of representative], my name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. I want to first thank you for being part of the Armenian Caucus and championing legislation that calls for supporting Armenia.

Include this sentence at the end of your call script:

Thank you for your continued support of the Armenian Caucus.

Call Script #1: Call on your Senate and Congressional representatives to tell U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the second Armenian Genocide.

Dear [name of representative], my name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. As your constituent, I am urging you to call upon U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the second Armenian Genocide.

On September 19th, Azerbaijan invaded Artsakh, bombing and storming civilian villages and committing war crimes in an attempt to ethnically cleanse the 120,000 indigenous Armenians who call Artsakh home. 24 hours later a ceasefire resulted only in the disarmament of Armenian soldiers and continued shelling from Azerbaijan. All this after Armenians in the region have struggled to survive Azerbaijan’s illegal Blockade since December 12th 2022, leaving the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh without food, water, electricity, and medicine. This blockade has been termed a second genocide by ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo and is starving the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

If the United States does not act to ensure the safety of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. will be an accomplice to the second genocide of Indigenous Armenians.

I ask you [name of representative] to call on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to support the surviving Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.  

Thank you for your time.

Call Script #2: Ask Your Congressional representatives to Cosponsor and Pass Anti-Blockade Resolutions

Congressional resolution links

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Dear [name of Congressional representative], my name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. As your constituent, I am urging you to cosponsor bipartisan House Resolution 108 and Resolution 320 to condemn Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, and condemn Azerbaijan’s continued aggression against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

H.R. 108 and H.R. 320 supported by Representatives Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone, and Brad Sherman recognize the ongoing genocide committed by Azerbaijan. 120,000 Armenians have been living without food, water, electricity, or medicine for over 285 days. This blockade has been termed a second genocide by ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo. If the United States refuses to act to end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. will be an accomplice to genocide.

I ask you to join Congressmen Pallone, Schiff, and Sherman in cosponsoring bipartisan House Resolutions 108 and 320 to support the Armenians of

Nagorno-Karabakh and end the ongoing blockade by Azerbaijan.

Thank you for your time.

Call Script #3: Call on your Senate representatives to Cosponsor and Pass Bill Sanctioning Azerbaijan

Senate Resolution links

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Dear [name of Senate representative], my name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. As your constituent, I am urging you to cosponsor the bipartisan Supporting Armenians Against Azerbaijani Aggression Act of 2023 to a) sanction Azerbaijan for its genocidal actions against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and b) provide humanitarian assistance to Armenians who have been attacked and displaced.

On September 19th, Azerbaijan invaded Artsakh, bombing and storming civilian villages and committing war crimes in an attempt to ethnically cleanse the 120,000 indigenous Armenians who call Artsakh home. 24 hours later a ceasefire resulted only in the disarmament of Armenian soldiers and continued shelling from Azerbaijan. All this after Armenians in the region have struggled to survive Azerbaijan’s illegal Blockade since December 12th 2022, leaving the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh without food, water, electricity, and medicine. This blockade has been termed a second genocide by ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo and is starving the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

If the United States does not act to ensure the safety of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. will be an accomplice to the second genocide of Indigenous Armenians.

I ask you to support this act and withdraw aid to the Azerbaijani government in response to the atrocities and human rights violations it has committed, and the ongoing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Please stand up for human rights and prevent an imminent genocide from happening. Thank you for your time.

Email Script #1: Call on your Senate and Congressional representatives to tell U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.[1]

Dear [your representative],

My name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. As one of your constituents, I am urging you to call upon U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to support the surviving Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

On September 19th, Azerbaijan invaded Artsakh, bombing and storming civilian villages and committing war crimes to ethnically cleanse 120,000 Indigenous Armenians. A ceasefire resulted in the disarmament of Armenian soldiers and continued shelling from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s illegal Blockade of over 285 days left the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh without food, water, electricity, and medicine. Ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo stated in a testimony on September 6th before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, “‘there is a reasonable basis to believe that Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor constitutes genocide under Article II c) of the Convention’ – and that the US, as a convention signatory, must do what it can to end it” (PR Newswire).

        Without immediate action, the U.S. will be an accomplice to the second genocide of Indigenous Armenians. I ask you [name of representative] to call on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the second Armenian Genocide.

[something personal from you]

Thank you for your time,

[your name]

Email Script #2: Call on your Congressional representatives to Cosponsor and Pass Anti-Blockade Resolutions[2]

Dear [your representative],

My name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. As your constituent, I am urging you to cosponsor bipartisan House Resolution 108 and Resolution 320 to condemn Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, and condemn Azerbaijan’s continued aggression against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

H.R. 108 and H.R. 320 supported by Representatives Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone, and Brad Sherman recognize the ongoing genocide committed by Azerbaijan. 120,000 Armenians have been living without food, water, electricity, or medicine for over 285 days.  This blockade has been termed a second genocide by ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo.

Ocampo stated in a testimony on September 6th before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, “‘there is a reasonable basis to believe that Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor constitutes genocide under Article II c) of the Convention’ – and that the US, as a convention signatory, must do what it can to end it” (PR Newswire). If the United States refuses to act to end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. will be an accomplice to genocide.

I ask you to join Congressmen Pallone, Schiff, and Sherman in cosponsoring bipartisan House Resolutions 108 and 320 to support the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and end the ongoing blockade by Azerbaijan.

[something personal from you]

Thank you for your time,

[name]

Email Script #3: Call on your Senate representatives to Cosponsor and Pass Anti-Blockade Resolutions[3]

Dear [your representative],

My name is [your name] and I live in [district of residence]. As your constituent, I am urging you to cosponsor the bipartisan Senate Resolution introduced by Senators Alex Padilla and Marco Rubio to condemn Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor and end the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

120,000 Armenians have been living without food, water, electricity, or medicine for over 285 days. This blockade has been termed a second genocide by ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo and is starving the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ocampo stated in a testimony on September 6th before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, “‘there is a reasonable basis to believe that Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor constitutes genocide under Article II c) of the Convention’ – and that the US, as a convention signatory, must do what it can to end it” (PR Newswire). If the United States refuses to act to end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. will be an accomplice to genocide.

 I ask you to join Senators Padilla and Rubio in cosponsoring the bipartisan Senate Resolution condemning the ongoing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and stop imminent genocide.

[something personal from you]

Thank you for your time,

[name]

Threads/Tweet Scripts

I am calling on @[your representative] to tell US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and not be an accomplice to genocide.

~

@[your representative] tell US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the second genocide of the Indigenous Armenians of Artsakh. 120,000 Armenians are stranded, living without food, water, electricity, and medicine. Don’t be an an accomplice to genocide and #StoptheBlockade.

~

Azerbaijan is committing genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh. I call on @[your Congressional representatives] to support H.R. 108 and 320 to condemn Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and continued aggression against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. #StoptheBlockade

~

As one of your constituents, I am asking @[your Congressional representatives] to cosponsor H.R. 108 and 320 and to condemn Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh. We need to #StopGenocide2023 and #OpenArtsakh.

Hashtags

#StoptheBlockade

#StopGenocide2023

#SOSArtsakh

#OpenArtsakh

Text and DM Your Friends

Hey [friend’s name]! I know there is so much going on in the world - and our lives - but I wanted to bring your attention to a dire crisis that has been ongoing with little media coverage for the last 285 days.  120,000 Indigenous Armenians in Artsakh have been living with little to no access to food, water, electricity, and critical medicine due to the genocidal blockade imposed by Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan recently began bombing and storming civilian areas. There are casualties. Can you please take a moment to contact your representatives and take action here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GeDxnrDXqMry_bHZjRwPdSpUF2PKGAXar2X5JCe_x-c/edit?usp=sharing

Your support, voice, and action are so powerful. Thank you!

Tips

  • DM your friends with a specific ask.
  • Posts are easy to scroll by and can get buried but a text or a DM is harder to ignore and can be a chance to bring folks into a conversation.
  • If you are stuck in a conversation or need other help, feel free to email or DM the Yerazad IG or FB page.

Resources

  • Organizations and Fundraisers

  • Accounts to Follow on the Ground

  • Yerazad Voices of Artsakh Series (Ongoing!)


[1] NOTE: Make sure you change the email slightly or add a personal note in the sentence so that your email is reached by your representative. When many emails are sent using a template, those emails are filtered out if they are identical.

[2] NOTE: Make sure you change the email slightly or add a personal note in the sentence so that your email is reached by your representative. When many emails are sent using a template, those emails are filtered out if they are identical.

[3] NOTE: Make sure you change the email slightly or add a personal note in the sentence so that your email is reached by your representative. When many emails are sent using a template, those emails are filtered out if they are identical.