Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Ancient Civilizations Forum

25 September, 2024

Following the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Ancient Civilizations Forum on the margins of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly a Joint Press Statement was adopted with participation of Armenia, China, Greece and Peru. The statement emphasizes:

“Emphasized that the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, and the looting and smuggling of cultural property, including religious sites and artifacts, in the event of armed conflicts and the attempts to deny historical roots, cultural identity, and cultural diversity in this context can fuel and exacerbate conflict, thereby undermining the security, stability, governance, social, economic and cultural development of affected States and realization of human rights, in particular cultural rights.

Underscored the need to strengthen the cooperation aimed at protecting and promoting the historical and cultural heritage of their peoples, as the common legacy of the whole mankind.

Stressed that the preservation of the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations plays an important role in advancing tolerance, and non-discrimination, combating hate speech and xenophobia, and building just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.”

Full text: https://www.mfa.am/.../09/25/Mirzoyan_ACF_Statement/12855

Statement by Ararat Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia։

“Unfortunately, Armenia has not remained unaffected by the current turbulence in the world order, having faced rising intolerance, xenophobia, and the destruction of cultural heritage.

The millennia-old Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh is under imminent threat of elimination, following the ethnic cleansing of its entire indigenous Armenian population. In this regard, Armenia strongly supports the immediate deployment of an independent UNESCO expert mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to assess, document, and protect endangered Armenian cultural heritage.

It should be noted, that the deliberate and systematic destruction, desecration and appropriation of Armenian cultural and religious sites and artifacts represents a direct breach of the legally binding order of International Court of Justice which ordered Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artifacts.”

Full speech: https://www.mfa.am/en/speeches/2024/09/25/Mirzoyan_ACF/12850

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