ANCA Eastern Region

08/12/2026

Register by Sunday, August 16 and join us in DC for Strategic Advocacy Days 2026 from September 14-15!

Represent your local Armenian Community in the halls of Congress, and make a difference in the future of Armenian-American advocacy. Whether you have no advocacy experience, or you’re a returning participant, the ANCA Eastern Region team will ensure you’re well-prepared and supported before you walk into an office. All are welcome and encouraged to register!

Express interest by visiting anca.org/AdvocacyDays

08/11/2026

Join us: anca.org/advocacydays

06/18/2026

BREAKING: Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI) has introduced a landmark amendment to H.R. 8800 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 - blocking U.S. security assistance to Azerbaijan until Baku meets concrete, verifiable conditions.

Under Rep. Amo's amendment, no funds authorized under the NDAA may be used to provide assistance to Azerbaijan under Section 333 of Title 10 until the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that Azerbaijan has:

— Upheld its commitments under applicable peace agreements and diplomatic declarations

— Completed the full withdrawal of Azerbaijani military forces from sovereign Armenian territory

— Released all Armenian prisoners of war, civilian captives, and unlawfully detained Armenians unconditionally

— Ceased all hostilities, threats of force, and aggressive actions against Armenia

— Recognized the right of return of Artsakh Armenians to their homes in safety, security, and dignity

— Committed to the protection and preservation of Armenian cultural, religious, and historical heritage sites in Artsakh

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to review this amendment in the coming weeks. If ruled in order, the full House will have the opportunity to vote on Rep. Amo's amendment — either separately or as part of an en bloc package.

The ANCA joins Rhode Island Armenians and supporters across the U.S. in thanking Rep. Amo for his principled leadership and urges Members of Congress to cosponsor this critical amendment.

06/18/2026

BREAKING: Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) has introduced a critical amendment to H.R. 8595 — the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027 — directing the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to submit a report to Congress assessing Azerbaijan's damage, destruction, and continued threats to Armenian Christian religious, cultural, and historical heritage sites in Artsakh.

Azerbaijan's genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh did not end with the forced displacement of 120,000 Armenians. It has continued through the systematic destruction of churches, monasteries, khachkars, and centuries-old cultural landmarks — an assault on Armenian identity and Christian heritage that the world must not ignore.

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to begin reviewing amendments soon. If ruled in order, the full House will have the opportunity to vote on Rep. Costa's amendment — either separately or as part of an en bloc package.

06/18/2026

: ANCA-backed amendment led by Armenian Caucus Vice-Chair Congressman Brad Sherman, calling for Azerbaijan to release Armenian POWs, proceeds to full committee vote with the support of House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans Chair Rep.
Brian Mast.

"It is the sense of Congress that Azerbaijan should immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war and political prisoners," states the amendment to the House Foreign Service Act (H.R.9086).

06/05/2026

Secretary Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week that the TRIPP agreement "fully respects" Armenia's sovereignty. ANC International's analysis of the agreement he signed tells a different story.

A legal reading of the documents, signed just 3-days before Armenia's parliamentary elections, shows:

-- Azerbaijan gets treaty-guaranteed, unimpeded transit through Armenian sovereign territory.

-- Armenia gets aspirational "reciprocal benefits" with no binding enforcement mechanism - and no guaranteed lifting of the Turkish-Azerbaijani blockade.

-- A wholly owned U.S. govt corporation holds 74% controlling ownership of infrastructure on Armenian sovereign territory for up to 99 years.

-- The agreement overrides conflicting Armenian law.

-- The agreement contains zero environmental safeguards.

-- The agreement limits dispute resolution to "consultations."

The agreement also contains no provisions on:

-- Right of return for Armenians displaced by Azerbaijan's genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh

-- Sanctions for Azerbaijan's war crimes and genocidal actions

-- Release of Armenian POWs held by Azerbaijan

-- Azerbaijan's continued occupation of sovereign Armenian territory

Azerbaijan's strategic interests are institutionalized. Armenia's security is not.

Read the ANC International's full analysis: https://go.anca.org/TRIPPAnalysis

06/05/2026

TRIPP in plain language: Armenia commits. The U.S. intends. Azerbaijan wins — without signing anything.

ANCA Western Region Board Member Kevork Hagopjian, Esq. has published a rigorous legal analysis of the TRIPP Framework Agreement in Asbarez News, and his findings demand serious attention from everyone following this debate.

The structural asymmetry is stark.

Armenia assumes binding obligations — land expropriation at its own cost, legislative override, and exclusive development rights ceded to a 74%-U.S.-controlled entity for an initial 49-year term, extendable to 99.

The U.S. counterpart? As Hagopjian writes: "An intent subject to fund availability is not a commitment. It is an aspiration dressed in treaty language."

And Azerbaijan — whose primary strategic objective, unimpeded connectivity between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through Armenian territory, is concretely institutionalized in the agreement — never signed it.

As Hagopjian concludes: "A framework that concretely institutionalizes one party's primary strategic gain while leaving the other's dependent on future political goodwill is not an incomplete agreement awaiting implementation. It is a completed agreement that favors one party."

Seven pages have been signed. Ninety-nine years have not yet begun.

Full analysis:

The TRIPP Framework Agreement is 7 pages long. It was signed days before the elections in Armenia. Both facts justify careful reading.

06/03/2026

ANCA Strategic Advocacy 2026: Armenian Americans from more than 30 states are coming to Washington. Join them!

The ANCA Eastern Region, Western Region, and National Headquarters will host Strategic Advocacy 2026 in Washington, DC on September 14-15, 2026 — mobilizing Armenian American advocates to Capitol Hill exactly 50 days before the November 3rd midterm elections.

The two-day fly-in centers on two themes: Electoral Impact and Policy Progress. Congressional and coalition meetings will press for concrete pre-election action on the right of return for Artsakh's forcibly displaced Armenians, the immediate release of Armenian hostages and prisoners of war held in Baku, full enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, and an end to U.S. military assistance to the Aliyev regime.

The program culminates in a Capitol Hill rally — Accountability | 2026: Artsakh — Justice. Freedom. Right of Return — on September 15th at 5:30 PM, gathering Members of Congress, Armenian American organizations, human rights advocates, and the next generation of community leaders.

"Fifty days out from this year's hotly contested midterm election is close enough to get their attention, far enough away for them to get things done," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We are positioned — like never before — to play a decisive role in an array of close elections."

The ANCA is recruiting first-time advocates, returning advocates, community leaders, clergy, professionals, elected officials, and university students. Need-based travel grants are available for college and graduate students.

The deadline to register interest is August 16, 2026.

Interested in attending? anca.org/advocacydays

Full press release: anca.org/press-release/anca-launching-pre-election-capitol-hill-mobilization/

WASHINGTON, DC — The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region and Western Region, in coordination with the ANCA National Headquarters, will host Strategic Advocacy 2026 in Washington, DC, on September 14-15, 2026 — mobilizing Armenian American advocates from across the countr...

05/28/2026

The courage and conviction that secured the First Republic continue to inspire our generation today. More than a century later, the Armenian people’s fight for sovereignty, security, and national identity endures.

On the occasion of May 28, we call on our compatriots to join us in recommitting to defending the Armenian people’s right to self-determination, securing justice and the right of return for Artsakh’s displaced Armenians, demanding the release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages illegally held by Azerbaijan, and advancing the Armenian Cause at every level of public life.

The responsibility to carry this legacy forward rests on our collective action — across the Eastern Region and beyond.