Minister: Azerbaijan been long making efforts to bring expert commission to occupied lands

1 July 2019 17:46 (UTC+04:00)

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It’s been already 20 years that the cultural monuments of Azerbaijan have been destroyed in the occupied territories of the country, Minister of Culture Abulfas Garayev said at a press conference, Trend reports.

Garayev noted that the issue was addressed to UNESCO as well.

“The question was raised at the current session, I said about this in my speech,” he added. “Azerbaijan has been making efforts for many years in order to arrange the visit of the assessment committee to the occupied territories."

"I would like to invite the international community to join this initiative, because the Armenian side is hindering the arrival of such a mission. The work in this direction continues,” he said.

The 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee continues its work in Baku.

High ranking officials of the UNESCO member countries participate in the session, including prime ministers, vice prime ministers and ministers of culture, environment, tourism as well as heads of international organizations and advisory bodies of UNESCO, permanent representatives to UNESCO of about 70 countries, and specialists in architecture, heritage and environment.

During the Baku session of the Committee, 36 out of 42 proposals for inscribing on the World Heritage List will be considered, including six natural, 28 cultural and two mixed (natural and cultural) monuments.

The budget execution report for 2018-2019 has been put on the agenda of the session, and discussions will be held on proposals related to the budget of the World Heritage Fund for 2020-2021. Hearings of deliberative bodies are also scheduled alongside the process of nominating files for inclusion in the World Heritage List and a discussion on the conservation of listed monuments.

The opening ceremony of the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee was held at Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku on June 30.

The ceremony was attended by First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva.

The 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is held from June 30 to July 10, 2019.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.