On May 3, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' arrived in Azerbaijan on a working visit. In Baku, he held a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Following their discussion, Patriarch Kirill conferred upon Mehriban Aliyeva the first-class Order of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga by his personal decision. The insignia was awarded in recognition of her contributions to the preservation of traditional social values and her efforts to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMRaLvSjQ58).

During the meeting, Patriarch Kirill and President Aliyev affirmed that Azerbaijan enjoys a "profound respect for multiculturalism" and emphasized the "favorable" atmosphere in which various religious communities coexist in peace. In their conversation, they underscored the significant role of the Orthodox community in Azerbaijan, portraying it as an integral component of the nation's cultural policy and as a manifestation of state-level religious tolerance.

It is noteworthy that Mehriban Aliyeva was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 "for her contributions to the preservation and development of culture, particularly national and oral folk traditions." This is especially striking given that Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated UNESCO conventions and principles. Moreover, at the Sixteenth Meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, held in Paris on December 2–3, 2021, Azerbaijan was elected to serve as a member of that committee for a four-year term (see: https://en.unesco.org/16th-Meeting-of-the-Committee-for-Protection-of-Cultural-Property-in-the-Event-of-Armed-Conflict-Working-Documents).

Senior UNESCO officials have treated Azerbaijan as a trusted partner. In 2009, following his retirement, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura joined the board of trustees of the state-run Baku International Multicultural Center. Later, he and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva jointly inaugurated an event commemorating the centenary of the renowned Azerbaijani writer and scholar Mir Jalal Pashayev (see: https://en.unesco.org/mediabank/21275/). Subsequently, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova participated in and addressed the Fourth World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue held in Baku in 2017, which attracted 800 participants from 120 countries (see: https://en.unesco.org/news/baku-forum-intercultural-dialogue-calls-enhanced-cooperation). Furthermore, despite the destruction of Julfa (Djuga) and numerous acts of vandalism against Armenian cultural heritage, she spoke only about the dangers of the Holocaust, without even alluding to the documented vandalism and ruination of tangible heritage in the region.

Even today, rather than condemning or taking preventive measures, the international community continues to "encourage" Azerbaijan's conduct.

Our Response

Today, forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh require protection of their cultural rights, which include unhindered access to their heritage sites and the opportunity to engage with these sites through truthful scholarship and authentic lived experience, thereby safeguarding their sanctuaries.

Such a policy at the international level directly contravenes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 18, which explicitly states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as well as the right to manifest and practice their religious convictions.