Azeri destruction of Armenian cultural heritage discussed at UNESCO

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s Foreign Minister participated in the 38th session of UNESCO General Conference, presided over by Stanley Mutumba Simataa.

At the session, Edward Nalbandian delivered a message, hailing UNESCO’s efforts in fostering peace and sustainable development by means of education, science and culture since 1945.

“In an era when the protection and promotion of human rights are considered to be the underpinning concept for the civilized world, intolerance towards the values of civilization, intentional destruction of cultural or religious heritage must be condemned with the same determination as violence against people. The international community should act in a resolute and timely manner to protect whatever is still possible to save,” Nalbandian noted.

Armenia has continuously drawn the UNESCO attention to the appalling situation of the Armenian cultural heritage in neighboring ‎Azerbaijan, he said‬. “In ‪Nakhijevan‬ alone, thousands of medieval khachkars, hundreds of Armenian churches, monasteries and other buildings have been completely destroyed by Azerbaijan in an attempt to erase all traces of the people who have lived in the region for centuries In its recently published report for 2015, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom made a reference to the vandalized Armenian cemetery in Nakhijevan and reported that the religious freedom in Azerbaijan has further deteriorated: ‪Baku‬'s only remaining Armenian church is currently used as an archive for the Presidential administration, while the confiscated ‪Lutheran‬ Church has been turned into a concert hall,” the Minister said.

Neighboring Iran, on the other hand, has made great efforts to preserve and protect the Armenian cultural heritage, Armenia’s foreign policy chief said. The Armenian Monasteries of Iran, the oldest of which dates back to the 7th century, were included in the World Heritage List by the Iranian Government. Armenia, in turn, reconstructed the ‪Iranian 18th century Blue Mosque in ‪Yerevan‬, intending to have it included in the World Heritage List.

Armenia tries to contribute to the preservation of the world’s cultural heritage, constructively engaging in activities of the relevant bodies of UNESCO. In 2013 Armenia became a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict. A year later, the country was elected as the Vice-chair of the Committee’s Bureau. This year Armenia joined the Subsidiary Committee to the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of cultural property.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education suggest that education shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups. Taking into consideration UNESCO's unique role in the sphere of education, Nalbandian suggested that the Organization create an overview mechanism that would examine and evaluate the textbooks of the member-states, especially on history and social sciences, with a special emphasis on exclusion of intolerance and xenophobia.

“A shared objective of creating a better world for the generations to come formed the basis of this Organization 70 years ago. Any attempts to drag the Organization into a propagandistic discourse with the aim of promoting one’s own political agenda at the expense or in contradiction of its values should be resolutely and timely prevented. Armenia is strongly committed to the ideals and goals of UNESCO and will continue expanding its involvement in the UNESCO initiatives and programs,” Nalbandian concluded.