Satellite images analyzed by the Armenian Cultural Landscape organization have revealed that Azerbaijani forces destroyed one of the most significant monuments of Armenia's megalithic culture—the Great Platform-Armor of Al Lakes (Fig. 1). As archaeologist Levon Mkrtchyan notes, this monument was remarkable both in its size and its structure (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14RkZPht2b/).

Azerbaijan occupied the area containing these monuments following the 44-day war in 2020 and subsequent Azerbaijani aggression along the Armenian border in 2021. Owing to its strategic location, this monument was demolished to facilitate the construction of a military facility. (For further information on this and other similar monuments, see: https://www.academia.edu/115954460/MEGALITHIC_CULTURE_OF_ARTSAKH?fbclid=IwY2xjawIMBPxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVIvMc--btI9sioLbLhccq5-Mn3eSzMYAsczZqz7gm0Pc2WMZHBj6EDb6A_aem_sL-axEco53xriPDOjj4G6Q).

Thus, it is evident that by carrying out fortification and military works along the border, the Azerbaijani side is destroying local archaeological monuments and altering the surrounding landscape. This landscape is crucial for researching and understanding these sites.

Our response

Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict prohibits any acts of vandalism, theft, pillage, or misappropriation, and it imposes an absolute ban on reprisals against cultural property. The Second Hague Protocol of 1999, which also applies to non-international (ethnic) conflicts, similarly forbids any act of hostility or reprisal against cultural heritage, classifying such actions as international crimes under Article 15. Furthermore, Article 53 of the First Protocol to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 states:

"Without prejudice to the provisions of the Hague Convention of 14 May 1954, it is prohibited to commit any hostile act against cultural property, to use it for military purposes, or to make it the object of reprisals."