After the conclusion of the 44-day war in 2020, significant Azerbaijani military and police forces were deployed in the occupied territories of Artsakh. Official videos broadcasted on television showed these forces stationed in former military units of the Artsakh Defense Army. However, observations from Azerbaijani social networks, particularly after the full occupation of Artsakh in 2023, indicate that parts of the occupied territory were repurposed as police and military bases and headquarters. This included buildings of some schools and, notably, community centers located in several settlements. These community centers had been constructed or renovated before 2020. The initiative to construct new community centers in Artsakh has been underway for over eight years, spearheaded by the Armenia Fund (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnArh2xaSZA).

After the military operations of September 2023, during which the military equipment and munitions of the Defense Army were seized and handed over to Azerbaijan, some of the ambushes were positioned in the yard of the former school named after Khachatur Abovyan in the city of Shushi. Judging by the photos and videos, this site had become one of the control points of the Azerbaijani army in occupied Shushi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pedhLD0aAoU).

The community center building in Getavan village of the Martakert region and the school building in Chapar village of the Martakert region suffered a similar fate (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u7oWJz2NfY), (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FUpTVHmGPY). The community center buildings in Sarnaghbyur and Ukhtadzor villages have been transformed into such points (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiL4wpr2oP8). In the case of such military points located in rural communities, it's challenging to determine how long they have been operating or will continue to operate. For instance, in 2023, the community center building in Ukhtadzor village was already abandoned, with broken windows, as evident from the video taken on-site (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0_AbfjcJAQ).

It can be stated that cultural and community centers, as well as schools, have been vandalized despite not being used for military purposes. This is evidenced by various videos circulating on the internet.

Our response

The deployment of military combat positions near or within civilian infrastructures, including the use of cultural heritage sites, charitable structures, educational centers, schools, and hospitals for military purposes such as shelter, armory, or residence of armed groups, is impermissible according to international regulations for the protection of cultural values and civilian objects during wartime. This practice may significantly impair the integrity of heritage, contravening Article 9 of the 1954 Hague Convention https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?DocID=75856.

Article 6 of the Second Hague Protocol of 1999 prohibits the conversion of cultural properties into military objects or their use for purposes that may expose them to the risk of destruction or damage.