ArmInfo. As a result of the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan, an entire people was forcibly expelled from their homeland. This was stated during a meeting with the UNESCO delegation by the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MESCC) of the Republic of Armenia Artur Martirosyan.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science, the UNESCO fact-finding mission, headed by the head of the UNESCO Directorate for Education and Innovation, Sobhi Tawil, is in Armenia to assess the existing needs in the field of education of internally displaced persons from Nagorno- Karabakh.
"We have repeatedly spoken about the catastrophe and danger threatening the people of Nagorno- Karabakh; corresponding letters were sent to UNESCO with the aim of taking preventive measures. As a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh, a humanitarian crisis arose, as a result of which a number of fundamental rights of about 120 thousand residents were violated, 30 thousand of whom were children. Due to the impossibility of food supplies, gas supplies, and periodic power outages, children's right to education was violated in kindergartens, schools and other educational institutions, and this situation lasted for more than 9 months," the deputy minister said.
Arthur Martirosyan noted that after September 19, the Armenian population was forcibly resettled from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, and now the RA government, represented by the Ministry, is taking steps to ensure the realization of their right to continuous education.
Artur Martirosyan expressed concern about Azerbaijan's refusal of the proposal of the Director General of UNESCO, as a result of which the UNESCO fact-finding mission was not given access to Nagorno- Karabakh and adjacent territories for the purpose of monitoring and inventorying the Armenian historical and cultural heritage that was under the control of Azerbaijan. The Deputy Minister also said that Armenia expects targeted actions from UNESCO that will help solve a number of problems, as well as suppress cultural vandalism carried out by Azerbaijan. "In 2020, after the end of the 44-day war, about 50 cases of vandalism and distortion of Armenian monuments were recorded, which were carried out by Azerbaijan with the aim of destroying the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories under its control. We expect UNESCO to fulfill its unique mandate to prevent similar incidents that are likely after forced displacement in 2023," Martirosyan emphasized.
At the same time, the deputy minister also pointed out the important role of UNESCO in monitoring the content of educational programs, in particular, the presence of hateful materials against Armenia and the Armenian people in Azerbaijani textbooks.
In turn, representatives of the mission confirmed UNESCO's readiness to support the efforts of the RA government to ensure the continuity of education of forced pupils and students from Nagorno-Karabakh.