BAKU: Azerbaijan Adopted UN Resolution on Protection of Heritage

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 29 2007

Azerbaijan Achieved Adoption of a UN Resolution on Protection of
Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflicts

Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend S.Agayeva / Azerbaijan achieved
adoption of a Resolution on Protection of the Cultural Heritage
during Armed Conflicts at the UN Council on Human Rights. Initiated
by the Azerbaijani side suffered from the aggressive actions of
Armenia, the document was adopted at the Council’s sixth session in
Geneva.

The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Switzerland, Elchin Amirbeyov, said
on 29 September by telephone that Azerbaijan presented to the
attention of the session participants the facts of Armenians’
destroying the cultural and historical monuments in occupied
Azerbaijani lands.

As a result of the military aggression in the occupied Azerbaijani
territories, over 927 libraries, 464 historical monuments and
museums, over 100 archaeological monuments, 6 state theatres and
concert studios were destroyed. Over 40,000 valuable and rare
exhibits were plundered. After Kalbajar region’s museum of local
lore, history and economy was destroyed, rare golden and silver
jewelries, ancient carpets were taken out to Armenia. The same
happened to Shusha historical museum, Aghdam museum of bread,
Zangilan museum of stone monuments. In fact, it is impossible to
define the total cost of all those historical and cultural values
plundered and destroyed by Armenians.

`Despite the reaction of the Armenian side participating at the
session, all 47 member-countries voted for the adoption of the
document,’ the Ambassador said.

The document envisages human rights for the protection of cultural
heritages in occupied territories within the international
principles.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in
1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia
has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the
Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since
1992, these territories have been under the occupation of the
Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire
agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are currently
holding peaceful negotiations.