Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015

Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015

This bill prohibits the issuance of any visa to, and requires denial of entry to the United States of, any alien who:

• holds a position in the senior leadership of the government of Azerbaijan, or is an immediate family member of such person;
• through his or her business dealings with such senior leadership derives significant financial benefit from policies or actions, including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, or corruption, that undermine democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in Azerbaijan; or
• is a member of any branch of the security, judicial, or law enforcement services of Azerbaijan and has participated in the persecution or harassment of independent media or journalists, human rights defenders, opposition groups, or religious groups.

The Department of State shall revoke any existing visas of such ineligible aliens.

The visa and entry prohibitions shall not apply to a government official of Azerbaijan seeking U.S. entry to participate in talks related to resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

It is the sense of Congress that:

• no loan, credit guarantee, insurance, or financing assistance be extended by any U.S. agency to the government of Azerbaijan, except for the provision of humanitarian goods and agricultural or medical products; and
• no funds available to the Trade and Development Agency should be available for activities of the Agency in or for Azerbaijan.

It is also the sense of Congress that the President should block all property and interests in property that:

• are owned by any member of the senior leadership of the government of Azerbaijan, by any family member, or by any person who through his or her business dealings with such persons derives significant financial benefit from policies or actions that undermine Azerbaijan's democratic institutions; and
• are or come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any U.S. person.

Activities prohibited by reason of the blocking of property and interests in property should include payments or transfers of any property, or any transactions involving the transfer of anything of economic value by any U.S. person to any person whose assets are blocked.

It is the sense of Congress that the President should continue to seek the support of other countries, particularly European countries, for a multilateral strategy to further the purposes of this Act.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov