On October 28–29, 2024, during the conference entitled "Protection and Restoration of Cultural Heritage Using New and Developing Technologies," initiated by the Armenian National Commission of the Republic of Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNESCO, the Director-General of UNESCO, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the Committee for the Hague Convention of 1954 and its two Additional Protocols (1954 and 1999), Christa Picat stated that UNESCO is concerned about reports of alleged destruction of cultural assets of various origins and types in Nagorno-Karabakh. She observed that Nagorno-Karabakh has been a focal point for UNESCO's attention for an extended period. In this context, during the recent conflict, the Director-General of UNESCO expressed a desire to dispatch a technical mission to the region to assess the situation. Discussions were held with the relevant parties at the highest levels to this end. Furthermore, Picat noted that circumstances have now evolved to the extent that the aforementioned mission cannot be dispatched in accordance with the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Furthermore, Krista Picat stated that last year UNESCO dispatched a mission to Armenia under the guidance of the Assistant Director-General for Culture. The mission's objectives were twofold: first, to extend support to the displaced population by addressing their educational and socio-psychological needs; and second, to assist in preserving Armenia's tangible cultural heritage to ensure its continued vitality. In this context, Picat highlighted the importance of safeguarding the customs and traditions defined by these communities. She also emphasized that UNESCO is prepared to assist these communities if necessary. Additionally, she noted that the Hague Convention has an ad hoc monitoring mechanism that can be initiated by any member state.

Our response

Between 2020 and 2024, UNESCO failed to fulfil its UN-mandated responsibility to safeguard the world’s cultural heritage. Despite the urgent need, it did not dispatch a mission to the region to document the actual condition of its heritage or to prevent its further destruction by Azerbaijan.

Regarding UNESCO’s actions, it is important to note that its response was limited to issuing appeals and expressions of concern. Notably, on October 10, 2020, UNESCO adopted a distinctly neutral stance regarding the escalating violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, which included attacks on schools, cultural sites, and religious monuments (source). The organization called on both parties to safeguard heritage in all its forms, including monuments, historical landscapes, and intangible cultural assets. Unsurprisingly, the statement also emphasized adherence to the provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention and its First and Second Protocols (1954 and 1999). However, these provisions, which have been repeatedly and egregiously violated by Azerbaijan, have not elicited an adequate response from UNESCO.

Almost ten days after the trilateral agreement of November 9, UNESCO reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh under the slogan "Heritage in Danger" and proposed sending a mission to the region to document and register cultural assets (source). However, as stipulated by the UNESCO Charter, such a mission could only proceed with the consent of both Armenia and Azerbaijan (since the Republic of Artsakh is not internationally recognized by the UN as a separate entity) and required consultations with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Although these consultations occurred, they failed to yield tangible results.

On February 4, during a virtual meeting mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron—acting as a Co-Chair of the Minsk Group—between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and the President of the Council of Europe, Charles Michel, an agreement was reached to send a UNESCO mission to both countries. The mission was intended to monitor the state of cultural heritage and specifically assess the condition of Armenian heritage in Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as Azerbaijani heritage in Armenia (https://www.primeminister.am/en/press-release/item/2022/02/04/Nikol-Pashinyan-video-conference/).However, a month after UNESCO's initial statement, Ernesto Ottone, the organization's Assistant Director-General for Culture, announced that they were still awaiting a response from Azerbaijan. "So far, we have appealed to the Azerbaijani authorities several times and have failed..." the statement reads (Nazaretyan, Artsakh's Cultural Heritage Under Threat). Subsequently, on December 21, 2020, UNESCO issued a press release expressing regret that the process of dispatching an independent technical mission of experts to Nagorno-Karabakh had been obstructed by Azerbaijan (Ambartsumian, Why Armenian Cultural Heritage Threatens Azerbaijan's Claims to Nagorno-Karabakh).

Notably, four years after the war, this mission has yet to be conducted. Meanwhile, the cultural heritage created by the people of Artsakh-recognized as part of humanity’s universal heritage under UNESCO principles-continues to face systematic destruction.