Thursday, March 10 2022 10:30

ArmInfo. The European Parliament is to discuss a draft resolution on destruction of  cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

A motion for a resolution is available on the official website of the  European Parliament:  

According to the document, the European Parliament,

having regards to the article 53 of the Convention IV of Geneva on  protection of civilian persons in time of war of 12 August 1949 and  the two additional Protocols of 1977,

having regards to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural  Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954,

having regards to the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of  the world cultural and natural heritage of 1972,

having regards to UNESCO Declaration Concerning the Intentional  Destruction of Cultural Heritage of 2003,

having regards to the Council Conclusions of 21 June 2021 on EU  Approach to Cultural Heritage in conflicts and crises,

having regards to the EC Joint Communication on the Eastern  Partnership (EaP) policy beyond 2020,

having regard to the Orders of the International Court of Justice on  7 December 2021 in the cases between Armenia and Azerbaijan,

having regard to the Statement by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on the  situation along the Armenia- Azerbaijan border on 12 January 2022,  having regard to the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the  Council of Europe on Humanitarian Consequences of the Conflict  between Armenia and Azerbaijan of 27 September 2021, 

having regard to the Resolutions of the European Parliament on the  need for an EU strategy for the South Caucasus of 20 May 2010, on  European Neighborhood Policy of 23 October 2013, on the review of the  European Neighbourhood Policy of 9 July 2015,

having regard to the Partnership Priorities between the EU and  Azerbaijan endorsed by the Cooperation Council on 28 September 2018,

having regard to the European Parliament resolution on cultural  heritage in Azerbaijan of 16 February 2016,

having regard to the Statement of President Charles Michel following  the trilateral meeting with President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan on 14 December 2021,

having regard the quadrilateral meeting held with the participation  of the President of French Republic Emmanuel Macron, as President of  the Council of the European Union, President of the European Council  Charles Michel, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev  and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on 04  February 2022,

having regard to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure;

whereas, as mentioned in the UNESCO Declaration Concerning the  Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage of 2003, adopted  following the destruction of Bahmiyan Buddha's statues, cultural  heritage is an important component of the cultural identity of  communities, groups and individuals, and of social cohesion, so that  its intentional destruction may have adverse consequences on human  dignity and human rights; whereas cultural heritage constitutes one  of the basic elements of civilization, given, for example, its  symbolic value and cultural memory of humankind uniting people; 

whereas in recent years a string of crimes against world cultural  heritage have been perpetrated, targeting of historical monuments in  Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, the destruction of the ancient city of  Palmyra, attacks directed against mausoleums of saints and mosques in  Timbuktu, Mali; 

whereas this drew global attention to cultural heritage crimes and  their irreparable harm caused to the targeted communities; 

whereas the loss of such heritage can seriously, if not irrevocably,  undermine the chances of a lasting return to peace between the  parties to a conflict; whereas, in conflict and post-conflict areas,  it has been found that some communities, deprived of their cultural  heritage and historical roots, have been made more vulnerable to  radicalization; 

whereas cultural goods are of major cultural, artistic, historical  and scientific importance and must be protected from unlawful  appropriation, deterioration and destruction; whereas Armenian  churches and monasteries are part of the oldest Christian heritage in  the world and are part of the common heritage of humanity; 

whereas the long-running conflict has had a catastrophic impact on  the cultural heritage of Nagorno- Karabakh and the region; whereas  over the last thirty years the irreversible destruction of religious  and cultural heritage was carried out by Azerbaijan, notably in  Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, where 89 Armenian Churches, 20 000  graves and more than 5 000 headstones were destroyed, as well as in  the former conflict areas returned by Armenia to Azerbaijan, in  particular the almost total destruction and looting of Aghdam and  Fuzuli; whereas 1456 monuments, mainly Armenian, came under  Azerbaijan's control after the ceasefire of 9 November 2020; 

whereas a lot of deliberate damage was caused by Azerbaijan to  Armenian cultural heritage during the 2020 war, namely during the  shelling of the Gazanchi Church, the St. Holy Saviour/Ghazanchetsots  Cathedral in Shusha/Shushi, as well as the destruction, changing of  function or damage of other churches and cemeteries during and after  the conflict, such as Zoravor Surb Astvatsatsin Church near the town  of Mekhakavan and St. Yeghishe in Mataghis village in  Nagorno-Karabakh; 

whereas President Aliyev during his visit to the 12th century  Armenian Church in Tsakuri vowed to remove Armenian inscriptions; 

whereas the first Nagorno-Karabakh War led to damages and  destructions of Azerbaijani cultural heritage pieces; whereas the  international community did not react at that time; whereas it is  crucial for the parties to the conflicts and the international  community to learn lessons from the past and to not repeat mistakes; 

whereas on 7 December 2021 the International Court of Justice ordered  Azerbaijan to 'take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts  of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage,  including but not limited to churches and other places of worship,  monuments, landmarks, cemeteries, and artefacts"; whereas a prominent  narrative promoting a "Caucasian Albanian" heritage to replace an  "Armenian" cultural heritage is being developed by Azerbaijan, which  is dismissed by mainstream historians; whereas in February 2022,  Azerbaijan set up a new working group tasked to 'remove fictitious  traces written by Armenians on Albanian religious temples'; 

whereas more than a year after the truce that stopped the active  hostilities, there is no  progress on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh,  and accountability for the crimes committed is still missing; whereas  there is no independent human rights monitoring in Nagorno-Karabakh,  and no mechanism exists to address these problems, and there is an  increasing risk of further escalation, undermining civilians'  security; whereas disputes on access points to the territory of  Nagorno-Karabakh result in the mere absence of most NGOs and  international organisations in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh; 

Recognizes, as does the Office of the Prosecutor of the International  Court of Justice[1], that cultural heritage constitutes a unique and  important  testimony of the culture and identities of peoples, and  that the degradation and destruction of cultural heritage, whether  tangible or intangible, constitutes a loss to the affected  communities, as well as to the international community as a whole; 

Strongly condemns the intentional damage and destruction of Armenian  cultural heritage, including places of worship, monuments, landmarks,  cemeteries, and artefacts in Nagorno-Karabakh and the region; 

Urges Azerbaijan to fully respect and protect this cultural heritage; 

remains deeply concerned about the future of the many Armenian  churches, monasteries, including the monastery in Khutavank/Dadivank,  cross-stones (khachkars) and other forms of cultural heritage which  have been returned under the control of Azerbaijan; 

deeply regrets that Azerbaijan had to suffer the deterioration of its  own heritage during the first conflict in the region; 

Welcomes the Orders of the International Court of Justice of 7  December 2021 indicating provisional measures in the cases between  Armenia and Azerbaijan concerning the application of the  International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial  Discrimination; 

Recalls that the Court has indicated provisional measures ordering  Azerbaijan and Armenia to take necessary measures to prevent the  incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination,  including by their officials and public institutions, and has asked  Azerbaijan to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration  affecting Armenian cultural heritage; 

recalls that the Court has also ordered both parties to refrain from  any action which might aggravate, extend the dispute or make it more  difficult to resolve; 

Is deeply concerned by the narrative promoted by Azerbaijan  presenting Armenian cultural heritage sites as having an Albanian  origin and the rebranding of Armenian monuments as "Caucasian  Albanian"; condemns the creation of a new working group which is  tasked to 'erase fictitious inscriptions' from religious or historic  monuments in the part of Nagorno-Karabakh under its control as an  illegitimate looting of cultural heritage of the neighbouring people  to deprive them of their historical memory; considers that this  decision violates the spirit of the 7 December 2021 Orders by the  International Court of Justice; 

notes that in the statement of 7 February, the Ministry for Culture  of the Republic of Azerbaijan ensured that "the working group,  comprised of both local and international experts, will monitor and  study this Christian heritage [...]" and added that "Should any  falsifications be identified, they will be documented with the  participation of international experts and presented to the  international community"; 

calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to scrupulously respect these  commitments; Demands Azerbaijan to enable the relevant actors, such  as UNESCO, Aliph or Iconem, to have access to the heritage sites in  territories under its control, in order to be able  to proceed to  their inventory and ensure their protection; urges that no  interventions on Armenian heritage sites occur prior to a UNESCO  assessment mission, and that Armenian and international cultural  heritage experts are consulted prior to, and closely involved during  interventions on Armenian cultural heritage sites; 

calls for full restoration of these and other demolished sites and  for greater involvement of the international community, particularly  UNESCO, Aliph and Iconem in protecting the world heritage in the  region; 

Demands that the history of Armenian civilization continues to be  taught in Nagorno-Karabakh and that historical revisionism is  countered; 

Calls on the EEAS and the Commission to actively participate in  efforts to protect cultural heritage at risk in Nagorno-Karabakh,  notably by deploying mechanisms to facilitate UNESCO's fact-finding  mission; encourages all initiatives, including private ones, to help  preserve this heritage; suggests the use of Satcen to provide  satellite images to help determine the external condition of the  endangered heritage in the region; Is deeply concerned about renewed  clashes along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, which resulted in human  casualties; calls on both sides to refrain from the use of force and  to continue the political dialogue initiated recently; 

commends in particular the successful establishment of a direct  communication link between the Ministers of Defence of Azerbaijan and  Armenia; Welcomes the recent release of 10 Armenian prisoners of war  by Azerbaijan and the handing over of mine maps by Armenia; 

urges Azerbaijani authorities to take further measures to restore  trust with, in addition to the protection of the cultural heritage,  the immediate release of all remaining prisoners of war as well as  the exchange of all available information on minefields in order to  proceed with effective demining in Azerbaijan to avoid further loss  of human lives; 

reminds that the release of war prisoners is a legal obligation; 

Stresses that a lasting settlement still remains to be found and that  the process of achieving peace and determining Nagorno-Karabakh's  future legal status should be led by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs  and founded on their 2009 Basic Principles, in line with the norms  and principles of international law, the UN Charter and the OSCE 1975  Helsinki Final Act; 

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the  Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for  Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the  EU Member States, the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for  Human Rights, the OSCE, Armenia and Azerbaijan.