Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 19
Trend:
UNESCO has adopted a document on the protection of cultural property in the occupied territories. The document was adopted at the eighth session of the UNESCO Committee for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflicts, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Dec.19.
The initiative to discuss in the committee the issue of protection of cultural property in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan was made by Azerbaijan in 2012.
The document prepared by the Secretariat of the UNESCO committee reflects the mechanisms and the aspects of application of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property.
The document also addresses the possibility of UNESCO technical mission visiting the occupied territories in order to monitor the state of cultural properties.
Despite the attempts of the Armenian side to prevent sending UNESCO missions to the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, the document was successfully adopted. A majority of committee members supported the inclusion of items in the document that meet the interests of Azerbaijan.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the THE OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Translated by M.L.
Edited by C.N.