The 2025 U.S. International Religious Freedom Report examines Azerbaijan’s continued destruction of Armenian monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to monumentwatch.org, a website that monitors Artsakh’s cultural heritage.

“Pages 46–48 of the 2025 U.S. Annual International Religious Freedom Report are devoted entirely to religious freedom violations in Azerbaijan, as well as the destruction of Armenian monuments and other issues. The report begins by stating that religious freedom in Azerbaijan is in a deplorable state.

It also highlights the destruction of Armenian monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh, noting that Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) has released new satellite data on disappearing religious heritage sites in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, revealing new instances of destruction of such heritage sites, including a 19th-century church, two cemeteries, and other cultural treasures.

And in June 2024, the US-based Freedom House published information that Azerbaijan had implemented a “comprehensive, coordinated strategy to expel the Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh and ‘liberate’ it from its historical and cultural presence” during military operations in 2020 and 2023. The organization assessed these actions as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report also examines U.S. actions, saying the U.S. State Department should:

• Continue to designate Azerbaijan as a Special Watch List under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) on the grounds that the country has committed serious violations of religious freedom.
• Impose targeted sanctions on Azerbaijani government bodies, including the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and officials responsible for serious violations of religious freedom.
• Facilitate visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories by independent international monitors, such as the United Nations, to inspect, document, and inventory cultural values.

The report also examines the steps taken by the United States and emphasizes that the U.S. Congress should organize hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and/or the House Foreign Affairs Committee to highlight religious freedom violations in Azerbaijan, building on the findings of the hearings organized by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

A separate section of the report also examines international relations and actions already taken. Particularly noting that European institutions and international human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, including violations of religious freedom.