The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has monitored religious freedom conditions in Azerbaijan and issued a report for 2020. In “Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict” section, the report reads:
September 2020 saw the renewal of violent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding territories. During the course of fighting in October, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of purposefully shelling the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral. According to reports, the cathedral was hit twice by precision missile strikes that severely damaged the roof and interior of the building. In December, Human Rights Watch concluded that the attack was intentional, constituting a war crime that should be investigated and prosecuted.
The announcement of a ceasefire in early November formalized the territorial gains Azerbaijan had made militarily, and it set a staggered timeline for the cession of additional territories to Azerbaijan—raising concerns about the protection of various churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other religious and cultural sites scattered throughout the region. President Aliyev reportedly gave assurances to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the country would protect Christian churches in these areas; however, some sites, such as a cemetery situated alongside an Armenian church in Hadrut, have already been vandalized. In late November, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization reiterated a call for the protection of heritage sites in the area, and it proposed dispatching a preliminary field mission to produce an inventory of such sites “as a prerequisite for effective protection of the region’s heritage”.
