The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges the U.S. government to keep Azerbaijan on the Special Watch List for committing or tolerating serious violations of religious freedom.

The Commission also calls for targeted sanctions against Azerbaijani government agencies, such as the Interior Ministry's Main Department for Combating Organized Crime, and officials responsible for serious violations of religious freedom by freezing the assets of these individuals and/or banning their entry into the United States. 

The Commission also calls for facilitating an on-site visit by an independent international observer, such as the United Nations (UN), to Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas to inspect and document an inventory of cultural and religious heritage.

It is noted that the U.S. Congress must require concrete improvements in religious freedom in Azerbaijan before the U.S. President can lift restrictions on security assistance to the country.

The Commission calls for hearings in the Senate and/or House of Representatives to emphasize religious freedom issues in Azerbaijan.

It is noted that the U.S. nongovernmental organization Freedom House previously found that Azerbaijan pursued a “comprehensive, methodically implemented strategy of ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population and historical and cultural presence in Nagorno-Karabakh” during its 2020 and 2023 military operations.

The Organization concluded that Azerbaijan's actions constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity. Armenian prisoners of war were reportedly subjected to religiously motivated ill-treatment, including verbal abuse and the appropriation and destruction of religious monuments.