ArmInfo. Protecting the Armenian cultural and religious heritage and preventing changing their identity in the territories under Azerbaijan's control since the end of the 44- day war is among Armenia's priorities, Armenia's FM Ararat Mirzoyan stated at his meeting with Mr. Valery Freland, Executive Director, International Alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH).
Mr Mirzoyan stressed that there is a threat of complete destruction of 21,000 museum pieces and over 2,000 pieces of Armenian culture.
The minister stressed a need for immediate interference of UNESCO to prevent further vandalism against Armenian monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh, which are part of world cultural heritage.
The sides discuss the ALIPH work to record the Armenian cultural and historical monuments in Tavush and Syunik and digitize the records, as well as further programs.
The International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH) is the main global fund exclusively dedicated to the protection and rehabilitation of cultural heritage in conflict zones and post- conflict situations. It was created in 2017 in response to the massive destruction of cultural heritage over the past decade, predominantly in the Middle East and the Sahel. ALIPH is a public-private partnership assembling several countries and private donors. Based in Geneva, this Swiss foundation also benefits of the privileges and immunities of an international organization, thanks to a headquarters agreement signed with the Swiss Confederation. To date, ALIPH has supported more than 150 projects in 30 countries (for instance, Iraq, Yemen, Mali, Afghanistan, Sudan, Libya, North-East Syria) on 4 continents. ALIPH finances concrete projects carried on on the ground, hand in hand with local partners, authorities, and communities. The ultimate goal is that cultural heritage protection contributes to peace and sustainable development.
Back on November 20, 2020, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay announced the readiness of the organization to send a mission to Karabakh to help restore the cultural and historical heritage of the region. And already in December of the same year, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO Ernesto Ottone noted that the organization "so far is only waiting for Azerbaijan's response so that UNESCO can continue to work with sending a mission." In turn, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, in a communique issued on December 22, 2020, called on UNESCO not to politicize the issue of protecting cultural heritage in Karabakh and stated that Baku "is open to a constructive dialogue to discuss the details of organizing the mission."
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also repeatedly stated that Moscow is counting on the visit of a UNESCO mission to Nagorno-Karabakh in the near future. However, the issue is deliberately delayed by the Azerbaijani side and against this background, in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, which have come under the control of Azerbaijan, acts of vandalism are being committed, Armenian cultural and historical monuments are being destroyed, and the identity of the monuments is being falsified.