Section 907
Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, a provision of law enacted in 1992, restricts certain forms of direct U.S. assistance to the government of Azerbaijan until the President certifies to Congress that it has taken "demonstrable steps" to lift its blockades against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
On October 24th 2001, the Senate, under extraordinary pressure from the State Department, adopted a broadly worded waiver of Section 907 that would effectively provide the President with nearly unrestricted authority to provide military aid to Azerbaijan, despite that nation's recent threats of renewed aggression towards Nagorno Karabagh and its long-standing refusal to comply with the terms of this law. The Senate action took the form of an amendment to the fiscal year 2002 foreign aid bill. Since it was first adopted into law in 1992, Section 907 has restricted certain types of direct U.S. aid to the government of Azerbaijan due to its blockades against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
Text of Section 907
Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act (Public Law 102-511)
Washington DC, 24 October 1992
Sec. 907. RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE TO AZERBAIJAN.
(a) RESTRICTIONS - United States assistance under this or any other Act (other than assistance under title V of this Act) may not be provided to the Government of Azerbaijan until the President determines, and so reports to the Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
(b) WAIVER- The restriction on assistance in subsection (a) shall not apply if the President determines, and so certifies to Congress, that the application of the restriction would not be in the national interests of the United States.
Legal action launched to block wavier of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan
Siranush Ghazanchyan, April 30, 2022
A request for a temporary restraining order has been filed against US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which would block the waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.
Hrair Kaladjian, Esq. filed the legal action, which would enjoin the Biden Administration from certifying the Section 907 waiver “until such time as the Government of the United States properly reports on the effects of any waiver of Section 907 pursuant to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and until the Government of Azerbaijan ceases all forms of Armenophobia.”
According to the results of a GAO investigation issued earlier this year, the State Department has consistently failed to inform Congress of the impact of over $164 million in U.S. assistance to Baku on the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Secretary of State Blinken, in response to questions from Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), stated this week that the Biden Administration is still reviewing whether to waive Section 907, despite ongoing Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh and Armenia. The ANCA, and a coalition of human rights, faith-based, and ethnic groups has called on the Biden Administration to enforce Section 907 restrictions and stop all arms and aid to Azerbaijan.
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