HRC 54rd Session. Item 3 – ID with SR on Rights of Indigenous People - Embassy of Armenia to Switzerland and Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN office at Geneva

HRC 54rd Session. Item 3 – ID with SR on Rights of Indigenous People

27 September, 2024

Delivered by Ms. Lilit Toutkhalian, Minister Extraordinary and Envoy Plenipotentiary

Mr. President,

A year ago, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh were expelled from the land of their ancestors, where they had lived for thousands of years. They left behind not only their property but also a vast historic, cultural, and religious heritage. This includes fortresses, palaces, churches, and monasteries that were built in Nagorno-Karabakh throughout all historical periods—from ancient times to the Middle Ages, and continuing into the modern era. These monuments stand as a testament to the uninterrupted presence of indigenous Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

This is why Azerbaijan has specifically targeted Armenian monuments, aiming to erase all traces of the Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh and perpetuate the ethnic cleansing. The UN Special Rapporteur on cultural rights referred to this as “cultural cleansing.”

One of the first actions Azerbaijan took in ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh was to destroy the parliament building down to its foundations. This reflects how Azerbaijan treats the rights of indigenous populations to express themselves in a democratic manner. As the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe noted, the entire Armenian population was displaced “due to a genuine threat of physical extinction and a long-standing policy of hatred toward Armenians.”

Thank you.

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