UNESCO will protect cultural property in Azerbaijan's occupied territories

A decision was made at the seventh session of UNESCO's Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict in Paris today to protect cultural valuables in occupied territories, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said today.
This decision is a result of Azerbaijan's doing.

The decision reflects a commitment to submit a report on the protection of cultural valuables in occupied territories written by the occupying power/s, as well as the ability to send technical missions to the territory under occupation.

According to the decision, the secretariat must prepare a detailed report on the agreement's implementation in 2013 as reflected in The Hague Convention and its Second Protocol which calls for the protection of cultural property in occupied territories and the submission of a report to committee.

A document adopted by the committee laid the foundation for broader discussion on the protection of cultural valuables in occupied Azerbaijani territory and it created specific mechanisms for dealing with the issue.

It should be stressed that Armenia and a number of committee members that ally with it were displeased by this decision, but most members of the committee approved of Azerbaijan's initiative and supported further steps in this regard.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20% 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 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 regarding the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.


/Trend/