CHW actively engages with policy makers, legislators, and international bodies to ensure that the destruction of cultural heritage in the South Caucasus is addressed at the highest levels of government.
Congressional & Legislative Testimony
February 2026
UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Law, Justice and Accountability
CHW provided expert testimony to the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Armenia and International Law, Justice and Accountability. Their inquiry, conducted in partnership with the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), is examining the evidence for systematic destruction, alteration, and appropriation of Armenian religious, historic, and cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2023.
June 2025
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
CHW Lead Researcher Dr. Husik Ghulyan testified before USCIRF on religious freedom conditions in Azerbaijan and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.
September 2024
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
CHW co-director Prof. Adam T. Smith provided witness testimony at the hearing “Human Rights in Azerbaijan Since the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
June 2024
United States Congress
CHW briefed the staff of Congressman Adam Schiff ahead of a letter signed by 48 Members of Congress to Secretary of State Blinken calling for cultural heritage protection to be raised at every diplomatic meeting with Azerbaijan.
January 2024
House of Lords — International Relations and Defence Committee
CHW provided a brief to the UK House of Lords committee in advance of its meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh. A question focused on cultural heritage and CHW’s evidence can be found at 10:47:45.
Policy Citations
2023
USCIRF Annual Report
CHW’s investigation of the destruction of St. Sargis Church cited in the 2023 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
2022
Medieval Academy of America
The Medieval Academy of America issued a statement on Medieval Armenian Heritage in the Region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
2022
European Parliament
CHW’s work referenced in the European Union’s relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan — European Implementation Assessment, September 2022.
2022
USCIRF Azerbaijan Report
CHW’s findings cited in the USCIRF 2022 Azerbaijan Report — Recommendation for Special Watch List.
2021
U.S. Department of State
CHW’s monitoring work cited in the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan and the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Azerbaijan.
2021
International Court of Justice
The ICJ issued provisional measures in the Case of Armenia v. Azerbaijan ordering the protection of Armenian cultural heritage — a ruling whose violation CHW was first to document.