UNESCO has not been a great help in preservation of cultural heritage, seeing as no efforts were taken to prevent destruction of khachkars in Julfa, which started back in 1960s, the chairman of Armenian Architects’ Union Mkrtich Minasyan told a news conference in Yerevan.

The head of Research on Armenian Architecture NGO Samvel Karapetyan, in turn, added, “To prevent acts of vandalism, Armenia should instigate legal action against perpetrators.”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Armenian Khachkar (cross-stone) an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. The decision to classify the unique Armenian artwork was made on November 17 during the fifth session of an intergovernmental committee of states signed onto UNESCO’s Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage.