NKR Cultural Heritage Ombudsman: Destruction of Artsakh`s heritage continues amid UNESCO`s silence

ArmInfo. Evidence of the Armenian presence in Artsakh is being razed to the ground amid the silence of international institutions, including UNESCO. Artsakh's Cultural Heritage Ombudsman and Vice President of the Azgayin Historical and Cultural NGO, Hovik Avanesov, wrote about this on his Facebook page.

He reported that following the forced displacement of the Artsakh population, more than 4,000 historical and cultural monuments, including approximately 370 monasteries and churches, thousands of khachkars, fortresses, and museum collections, have come under Azerbaijani control. "Today, this heritage is under threat of complete destruction and the distortion of its historical identity. "Azerbaijan has razed numerous villages, churches, and cemeteries to the ground, and satellite images are recording new destruction day after day," Avanesov said.

He recalled that the Armenian-French platform Monument Watch monitors Artsakh's cultural heritage. "From the historic quarters and memorial complexes of Stepanakert to the Kanach Zham Church (St. John the Baptist - ed.) and the shrines of Berdzor, evidence of the Armenian presence is consistently razed to the ground amid the silence of international organizations, in particular UNESCO," the NKR Cultural Heritage Ombudsman concluded.

It is worth noting that the International Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures under the auspices of UNESCO was among those who congratulated Azerbaijan on its victory in the aggression against Artsakh in the fall of 2020.   Moreover, Jyoti Hosagrahar, Deputy Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center in Yerevan, publicly stated that she was unaware of any destruction of Armenian churches and monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh, and she did so with a cynical smile, as if mocking the journalist who asked her this question. This sparked a wave of indignation in Armenian society.

It should be noted that approximately 4,000 Armenian cultural sites, including more than 370 churches and 119 ancient fortresses, remain under Azerbaijani control today. Azerbaijan has completely destroyed or significantly damaged the following cultural and religious sites: the Kanach Jam (Surb Hovhannes Mkrtich) Church in Shushi was completely destroyed in April 2024; the Ghazanchetsots Cemetery in Shushi was completely destroyed; the village of Karintak was completely bulldozed; monuments and busts in Stepanakert were dismantled, including those to Charles Aznavour, Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Hovhannes Tumanyan, and Marshal Baghramyan. The Marshal Khudyakov Museum in the village of Mets Tager was destroyed. On September 28, 2026, the NKR Cultural Heritage Ombudsman reported that from 2020 to the present, the number of recorded cases of vandalism in Artsakh has exceeded 1,000, more than 7 churches have been completely destroyed, about 10 villages have ceased to exist, and about the same number have been partially destroyed.