EU Parliament Adopts Resolution on Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Artsakh

The European Parliament has recently adopted a resolution on the "Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Artsakh" with a vote of 635 in favor, 2 against, and 42 abstentions. Arman Yeghoyan, a member of the National Assembly from the "My Step" faction, announced this on his Facebook page.

According to Yeghoyan, the resolution strongly condemns Azerbaijan's ongoing policy of erasing and denying Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh and its surroundings, violating international law and the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice.

It also notes that over the past thirty years, Azerbaijan has irreparably destroyed religious and cultural heritage, particularly in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, where 89 Armenian churches, 20,000 graves, and more than 5,000 tombstones have been destroyed.

The resolution emphasizes that the erasure of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh is not only about damage and destruction but also about falsifying history and misrepresenting it as so-called Caucasian-Albanian heritage. It highlights a statement made by Azerbaijan's Minister of Culture Anar Karimov on February 3, 2022, regarding the establishment of a working group responsible for removing "fabricated traces" left by Armenians on Albanian religious sites.

Furthermore, it recognizes that the erasure of Armenian cultural heritage is part of a broader systematic policy of anti-Armenianism, historical revisionism, and state-sponsored hatred against Armenians, which is encouraged by Azerbaijani authorities, including through inhumanism, glorification of violence, and territorial demands against the Republic of Armenia, which threaten peace and security in the South Caucasus.

The resolution underscores the necessity of approaching the protection of cultural heritage within the broader context of conflict resolution between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the final determination of the status of Artsakh. In this regard, it calls on Azerbaijan to abandon its maximalist objectives, bellicose approaches, and territorial claims against Armenia, and to engage in negotiations regarding the final status of Artsakh under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Additionally, it urges Azerbaijan to fully comply with the interim measures of the International Court of Justice, specifically to refrain from suppressing the Armenian language, destroying Armenian cultural heritage, or otherwise erasing the historical Armenian cultural presence, as well as to restore or return any Armenian cultural and religious structures, artifacts, or items. Yeghoyan emphasized that any new cases of destruction or alteration of cultural heritage must attract immediate attention from the international community.

The resolution further calls on the European Commission to use all available levers to prevent the destruction, alteration, and vandalism of cultural heritage in Artsakh.