Culture Ministry appeals to international organizations

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture has appealed to international organizations amid Armenian aggression.

Since September 27, the Armenian Armed Forces have been carrying out military provocations on the front line and shelling Azerbaijani settlements. As result of heavy artillery shelling, there are dead and wounded among civilians in Azerbaijan.  Residential buildings, various structures, including objects material cultural heritage have been damaged as well. 

The statement, addressed to UNESCO Director General Audre Azoula, ISESCO Director General Salim bin Mohammed al-Malik and high-ranking representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos, notes the importance of the unconditional implementation of four UN Security Council Resolutions on the liberation of Azerbaijan's occupied territories.

Shelling of civilians and objects, historical monuments by Armenia is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, including - 1954 UNESCO Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Second Protocol, signed in 1999, the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949) and additional protocols, the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (1992) and other norms of international law.

In conclusion, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, Acting Minister of Culture Anar Karimov called on the above-mentioned international organizations to condemn Armenian occupation policy and take appropriate measures in this regard.