Azerbaijan elected a member of UNESCO Committee on the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

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A delegation led by the head of the State Service for Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Azad Jafarli, continues its visit to France.

The Ministry informed AZERTAG about that the delegation took part in the 9th meeting of the Parties to the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

The members of the Bureau were elected at the meeting, the report on the activities of the Secretariat and issues such as equal representation, amendments to the rules of procedure and the election of members of the Committee were discussed at the respective meeting.

In particular, the report of the Committee of the Second Protocol on the Protection of Cultural Property during the Armed Conflict was heard. After the presentation of the report, the representatives of the member states expressed their views on the work of the Committee and the content of the report.

Speaking on behalf of the Azerbaijani delegation, the head of the Civil Service Azad Jafarli stressed the productivity of the Committee's two-year activity, and praised the services of the Chairman of the Committee Najat Rhandi. He spoke about the progress made in the UNESCO Technical Mission. He emphasized that the protection of cultural heritage is one of the main terms on the agenda of the Azerbaijani state, laying the foundation for peace, tranquility, prosperity and sustainable development. He noted the launch of the "Peace for Culture" campaign, discussions with the UNESCO Secretariat on the visit of the Technical Mission to the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan which was blocked over the past 30 years and after the liberation of sovereign territories of our country a year ago, the suitable condition for the visit of UNESCO Technical Mission has been created.

He said that the tripartite agreement, signed on November 10 last year, ended a 30-year conflict. The current post-conflict period is the best time to close the long-standing legal and factual gaps. Azerbaijan is determined to restore culture and bring development to the territories completely destroyed and devastated during the occupation, and to further strengthen peace. Significant progress in discussions with the UNESCO Secretariat is due to the use of a bilateral format, the preservation of constructiveness and the protection of cultural heritage without politicization.

Azerbaijan is interested in the realization of work of the Technical Mission as soon as possible and expects the UNESCO Secretariat to provide valuable feedback on its proposals submitted in August this year. Appropriate steps will be taken to continue this process between our country and the UNESCO Secretariat in a bilateral format, to keep it out of politicization and to complete it successfully.

Later, the Armenian side provided false information at the meeting by saying that the Azerbaijani side bombed and destroyed churches and other monuments in Shusha, and asked the UNESCO Secretariat to provide information about the sending of the Mission.

In response to the Armenian representative, the Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO Elman Abdullayev highlighted that this Mission was prevented by Armenia during the occupation period over the last 30 years. Noting the urgency of security issues related to the visit, he stressed that the reason was the placement of hundreds of thousands of banned landmines in our territories during the occupation. Besides, the Azerbaijani representative called not to overshadow the constructive dialogue and not to politicize it.

Elections were held for membership in the Committee on the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. As a result of the elections, our country was elected a member of the Committee for the next four years. Along with Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Qatar, Ukraine, Japan and Finland have been awarded membership in the Committee for the next four years.

The representation of our country in the Committee is of exceptional importances to prevent provocations and false allegations of Armenia and its allies within UNESCO via using the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the Second Protocol.