Urgent Need for UNESCO Evaluation Mission Visit to Nagorno-Karabakh: Hunanyan

We strongly condemn the acts of vandalism and desecration against the Holy Resurrection Church in the city of Hadrut, which has come under Azerbaijani control. This was stated in a message released by Vahan Hunanyan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

“These actions, carried out in a planned manner by the Azerbaijani authorities, are directed at destroying Armenian religious and cultural monuments in areas under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces and falsifying identity. They are yet another manifestation of ethnic and religious intolerance by Azerbaijan and a continuation of its systematic policy to erase Armenians and Armenian traces from Artsakh,” the message reads.

The atrocities against Armenian churches and other cultural and religious monuments in Artsakh grossly violate international legal norms, including the decision on urgent measures issued by the International Court of Justice on December 7, 2021.

This incident further reaffirms the Armenian side's claims that there is an urgent need for a UNESCO evaluation mission visit to Nagorno-Karabakh,” the statement concludes.