Armenian MFA: Azerbaijan continues to block initiative to send UNESCO mission to Artsakh

Azerbaijan continues to block the initiative to send a UNESCO mission to Artsakh, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry noted that ever since Azerbaijan’s large-scale military attack against Artsakh in 2020, Yerevan has been constantly raising at relevant international organizations, including UNESCO, the issue of the protection of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh.

Back in November 2020, Armenia supported the initiative of the Director General of UNESCO to send an expert group to Artsakh and was engaged in the process of organizing this mission as soon as possible.

“Azerbaijan’s destructive attitude regarding the matter of the UNESCO expert mission contradicts the provisions of all international conventions working in the domain of cultural heritage protection, including the provisions of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry stressed.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan’s position violates the decision of the UN International Court of Justice of December 7, 2021, which obliges it to “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 artifacts.”