55 HRC. Item 3. Interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

07 March, 2024

Delivered by H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative

Mr. President,

Armenia welcomes the Special Rapporteur and thanks for her communication dispatched to Azerbaijan on September 2023. It outlined, in particular, that “combined attacks to people, monuments and symbols, the falsification of the historical narrative and erasure of place names and the negative discourses about Armenians may amount to cultural cleansing.”

We would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to this mandate for continuously keeping under its attention the fate of the endangered Armenian cultural heritage. The referred communication was the third one addressed to Azerbaijan in the course of three years.

This frequency by itself demonstrates the urgency of the matter. The risk of irreparable harm to the cultural rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh has been also recognized by the ICJ that ordered Azerbaijan in 2021 to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts. It has never stopped.

Most recent acts of vandalism include the demolition of the statue of great French-Armenian artist Charles Aznavour. Indeed, Azerbaijan targets culture in all its forms and manifestations.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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