ArmInfo.The ad hoc report of the Armenian National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), regarding the acts of vandalism and destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh (Nagorno- Karabakh) by Azerbaijan has been released as a document of the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council.
"The report contains well-documented facts on numerous cases of deliberate destruction, desecration and falsification of the identity of the Armenian churches, khachkars (cross-stones), shrines and other historical and cultural monuments by Azerbaijan in the aftermath of its premeditated military aggression against Artsakh between September and November 2020. Vandalizing and misappropriating the millenniums-old Armenian religious and cultural heritage of Artsakh is part of the State-sponsored policy of instigating hatred and violence against the indigenous Armenian population and denying their right to life in the ancestral homeland.
"Azerbaijan's refusal to provide access to the fact-finding mission of UNESCO to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone is a clear indication of an imminent threat of destruction of any evidence of Armenia's civilizational presence in the region, as was the case with the complete annihilation of the Armenian cultural heritage in Nakhijevan, most notably the ancient cemetery of Old Jugha, where thousands of khachkars were razed to the ground between 1997 and 2006. One recent manifestation of such intent is the statement by the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, announcing the establishment of a so-called working group to alter and illegally appropriate Armenian religious and cultural heritage.
"Azerbaijan's actions are in clear defiance of the legally binding order on the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice on 7 December 2021 as a matter of urgency, which compels that Azerbaijan "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".
"A strong reaction by the international community to this State-sponsored war on history and culture is ever more urgent to ensure that the Armenian religious and cultural monuments are preserved and further acts of vandalism are prevented. Notably, Armenia emphasizes, once again, the imperative of unimpeded access by the United Nations and its agencies, in particular UNESCO, to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
"In this regard, I would like to refer to the latest resolution adopted by the European Parliament, on 10 March 2021, condemning the destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh and calling for its immediate protection (noting that historical revisionism and the defacement and destruction of cultural or religious heritage run counter to the decision of the International Court of Justice of 7 December 2021), as well as calling for the dispatchment of the UNESCO independent expert mission without delay, while stressing that unhindered access to all cultural sites must be granted by Azerbaijan.
"I kindly ask that the present letter and its annex be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 16, 72, 73, 74 and 134, and of the Security Council," reads a letter by Ambassdor Mher Margaryan, RA Permanent Representative to the U.N.
The reports is available here:
1. undocs.org/A/76/822
2. undocs.org/S/2022/358