Azerbaijan is destroying Armenian heritage in Artsakh: statement at UN Human Rights Council

During the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Joel Veldkamp, Director of Public Advocacy at Christian Solidarity International, delivered a statement to the Council.

“This month marks three years since Azerbaijan seized Nagorno-Karabakh and completely expelled its Armenian Christian population.

To this day, Azerbaijan continues to obstruct the return of 150,000 displaced Armenians to their homes, in defiance of the International Court of Justice’s ruling of November 17, 2023.

Azerbaijan is also unlawfully holding 20 Armenians for political reasons and continues to destroy monuments of Armenian cultural heritage. Among the most recent cases is the destruction of a medieval cemetery in the vicinity of Shushi.

We are deeply concerned by the fact that this month a group of 150 diplomats visited the ethnically cleansed cities of Nagorno-Karabakh. During this visit, Azerbaijani officials falsely presented medieval Armenian churches as heritage belonging to another people.

Peace in the South Caucasus cannot be built on the basis of ethnic cleansing, politically motivated unlawful detentions and the destruction of cultural heritage.

We call on this Council to take effective measures to ensure the safe return of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to their homeland with a guarantee of the full realization of human rights.

One practical step toward achieving this could be support for the peace forum on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue proposed by the Swiss Parliament,” the statement said.