The National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) policy agenda is gaining traction in Washington. In his statement delivered at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on “Safeguarding the People of Nagorno-Karabakh” on June 21, 2023, Ambassador (and former Senator) Sam Brownback echoed NDA’s long-standing policy line by stating that “Armenia should be designated a Major Non-NATO Ally of the US.”

His strongly worded and compassionate statement had several other elements that form the foundation of the NDA’s advocacy campaign in Washington. Perhaps the most powerful of them was the Ambassador’s statement that Armenia is a natural long-term ally of the United States and that it is in the United States’ national security interests to ensure a satisfactory resolution to the conflict.

As a short-term actionable policy recommendation Ambassador Brownback stated that “Congress should take the lead with a bipartisan Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Act to establish the basic security guarantees we expect the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh to enjoy and ensure that their freedom of movement be reestablished. A congressional delegation should also travel to Nagorno-Karabakh.”

We went on to say that “[w]e cannot allow another Armenian Christian genocide or crimes against humanity to unfold in Nagorno-Karabakh. Let us take our stand now like our American forefathers who stood with the persecuted Armenians during their holocaust.”

Press service of National Democratic Alliance
7 July 2023