Armenian agency urges UNESCO, ICOMOS to act amid reported heritage destruction in Artsakh
An Armenian development agency has issued an urgent appeal to international cultural and human rights bodies, warning of what it describes as systematic destruction and attempted appropriation of Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage.
In a statement, the We are Our Mountains Development Agency cited the documented destruction of St. Hakob Church in Stepanakert — which the agency described as the capital of Azerbaijani-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh — and reports of the demolition of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral.
It also referenced recorded acts of vandalism against sanctuaries, cemeteries, monuments, and other markers of Armenian identity, saying these were not isolated incidents but evidence of a broader policy. The agency said it was particularly alarmed by rhetoric it observed in recent days in the Azerbaijani information space concerning one of Artsakh’s most recognized symbols, the We are Our Mountains monument.
According to the statement, this discourse appears to prepare the ground for the monument’s destruction, desecration, or reinterpretation, and recent reports of damage in Stepanakert make the threat “real and urgent.” The statement argued that the systematic eradication of cultural heritage, and the erasure of an indigenous people’s traces from their homeland, “contains elements of the crime of genocide” and should be viewed not only as cultural vandalism but as a criminal policy targeting identity, memory, and historical rights.
Calling for immediate intervention, the agency urged UNESCO, ICOMOS, and other international cultural, human rights, and diplomatic institutions to take urgent and effective action to prevent “yet another irreversible loss” of Armenian heritage in Artsakh. It appealed for independent monitoring, comprehensive documentation, and international access to assess the current state of the region’s cultural and spiritual sites.
The agency said the international community’s silence and inaction have already had grave consequences, including the depopulation of Artsakh of its Armenian population, occupation, and ongoing damage to Armenian historical and cultural presence. It warned that continued inaction could result in further irreversible losses.