MEPs on Thursday condemned Azerbaijan’s policy of erasing and denying the Armenian cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, in violation of international law and the recent judgment of the International Court of Justice ordering the country to take all necessary measures to prevent and punish any acts of degradation and desecration.
In the joint resolution adopted by The Left, Greens/EFA, S&D, Renew Europe, ECR and EPP Groups (635 votes in favour, 2 against and 42 abstentions), MEPs note that the erasure of Armenian cultural heritage is part of a wider State policy of “systematic Armenophobia, historical revisionism and hatred towards Armenians promoted by the Azerbaijani authorities”.
Azerbaijan must allow UNESCO access to heritage sites in the territories under its control so that it can carry out an inventory, say MEPs, who stress the need to address the protection of historical and cultural heritage in the broader context of the resolution of the conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the final determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The European Parliament also calls on all States to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of intangible cultural heritage sites in the territory under their control.
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/pw (Camille-Cerise Gessant)