On April 5, the session of UNESCO National Commission of Armenia was held at the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The issue of proper and guaranteed protection of the Armenian historical, cultural and religious heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan, the prevention of cases of vandalism against them, and the distortion of identity was one of the key topics on the agenda.
“As you know, due to the Azeri-Turkish aggression and after the November 9 trilateral statement, along with other humanitarian problems, one of the urgent issues was the proper and guaranteed maintenance of the Armenian historical and cultural-religious heritage in the territories under the Azerbaijani control. Other important issues are prevention of vandalism and ensuring monitoring.
Thousands of historical, cultural and religious monuments in the territories of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), which are now under the military control of Azerbaijan, are facing the danger of destruction. These monuments, which are the strong evidence of the centuries-old history of the Armenian people in the region, are of great value in terms of not only Armenian but also world cultural heritage.
The danger of the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh is real, taking into account the numerous precedents of their deliberate damage by Azerbaijan, the decades-long anti-Armenian policy and the systematic destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage. This is also proved by the destruction of about 28,000 monuments of Nakhichevan’s rich Armenian cultural heritage,” Ara Aivazian, Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the UNESCO National Commission of Armenia, stated in his speech.
Aivazian stressed, since the very first days of the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression, all the necessary work had been done to draw the attention of the international community to the importance of protecting the historical and cultural monuments of Artsakh.
Referring to the sending of UNESCO mission to Artsakh, the Foreign Minister stressed that the Armenian side is in a constructive dialogue with the organization. Active efforts are made to carry out a mission with a re-established format by the announcement of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention on protection of cultural values adopted in 1954, initially announced by the UNESCO Director-General and in case of armed conflicts.
The Armenian Foreign Minister reaffirmed that the RA Foreign Ministry will continue its follow-up work on the protection of Artsakh’s historical and cultural heritage.
Vahram Dumanyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia presented the works carried out by the Ministry for the protection of the monuments and museums of Artsakh fallen under the control of Azerbaijan. Minister Dumanyan stressed that the issue of guaranteeing the security of Armenian cultural values, which are universal, is constantly voiced in relevant international platforms and in contacts with partners.
During the meeting, the participants exchanged views on the implementation of the programs included in the agenda of the commission session.
