Azernews.Az

A UNESCO panel has made a decision during a session of its panel in Paris to protect cultural valuables in occupied territories, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The decision by UNESCO's Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which is a result of Azerbaijan's efforts, reflects a commitment to submit a report on the protection of cultural valuables in occupied territories drawn up by the occupying power, as well as the ability to send technical missions to the territory under occupation.

According to the decision, the secretariat must prepare in 2013 a detailed report on the implementation of relevant clauses reflected in the Hague convention and its second protocol, which calls for the protection of cultural property in occupied territories, for its further submission to the committee.

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

Armenia and a number of committee members that support it disapproved of this decision, but most members welcomed Azerbaijan's initiative and supported further steps in this regard.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in conflict, which emerged in 1988 when Armenia leveled territorial claims against the neighboring country. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijani land since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994 following a brutal war.

Russia, France and the U.S., which co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, are brokering peace talks. The negotiations have been mostly fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.