According to recent videos in February 2025, the Azerbaijani side has inflicted significant damage on several gravestones within the Stepanakert memorial complex. Specifically, they have blasted the stone urns installed near the gravestones and shattered the dressed stones. Judging from the footage, some gravestones belonging to participants of the 44‑day war in 2020 were also damaged (https://t.me/KarabakhRecords/15487?fbclid=IwY2xjawINptBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHaVfl_k2IRcDS75zi4A26vt5bxXOiMjjaQinBFm5RYqz_D_a1m4dS7E0rQ_aem_8xxr3zAtDCpGhJIr7wOWdA). Nevertheless, it is essential to note that the tombstones, inscriptions, and depictions of soldiers remain undamaged. Although the Azerbaijani authorities have not yet seized the memorial complex, it is evident that it is periodically subjected to acts of vandalism and remains under the threat of destruction (see also: "The Stepanakert Memorial Complex Under Threat,"” https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/the-stepanakert-memorial-complex-under-threat/).

Our response

According to the December 7, 2021, decision of the International Court of Justice, the desecration of Armenian monuments—including cemeteries—is prohibited. Under that decision, Azerbaijan is required to take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration against Armenian cultural heritage, including, but not limited to, churches and other religious sites, monuments, places of interest, cemeteries, and artifacts (International Court of Justice, Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), December 7, 2021, No. 2021/34).

Furthermore, on March 12, 2024, the European Parliament adopted a resolution emphasizing the need for closer ties between the EU and Armenia and a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In its 19th point, the resolution condemns the destruction, vandalism, and desecration of all historical and cultural sites that attest to the multi-millennial Armenian presence (https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2024/2580(RS)).

The desecration of cemeteries also constitutes a war crime under the second part of Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which specifies that, for this Statute, "war crimes" include deliberate attacks on buildings used for religious, educational, cultural, scientific, or charitable purposes—such as synagogues, historical monuments, hospitals, and other sites where patients and the wounded are concentrated—provided that these objects are not military objectives (Article 8, second paragraph, subparagraph (b), clause ix).

By engaging in the desecration of cemeteries, Azerbaijan is also violating Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention, which stipulates that the parties are obliged to safeguard cultural property within both their territory and that of the other party, prohibiting the use of such property for purposes that, in the event of armed conflict, could lead to its destruction or damage, as well as protecting it against any hostile actions.