Azerbaijan calls on UNESCO to send mission to liberated territories

Azerbaijan's Minister of Culture Anar Karimov called on UNESCO to send a technical mission to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan as soon as possible, Report informs, citing the Ministry of Culture.

On September 29, Karimov spoke at the session dedicated to the topic "Heritage and cultural diversity in times of crisis" within the framework of the ongoing Mondiacult 2022 conference in Mexico City.

In his speech, the minister drew the attention of the event participants to the ethnic and cultural genocide committed by Armenia in the territories of Azerbaijan which were under Armenian occupation for nearly 30 years.

During the occupation, many mosques, historical monuments, and cultural institutions were completely destroyed due to unprecedented systematic and purposeful actions against the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan. These acts of genocide against the historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan have been met with silence by international organizations. It was pointed out that Azerbaijan started large-scale restoration works after liberating its lands from occupation, and in this context, the restoration of cultural heritage is of great importance.

Information was given on the new initiative of Azerbaijan, the global call Peace for the sake of culture, and it was reported that this initiative is an additional dimension of the Baku process, which has been promoted by Azerbaijan since 2008 and promotes intercultural dialogue.

During the session, Minister Karimov also made a statement on behalf of the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).