Azerbaijan vandalized Holy Mother of God Cathedral in occupied  Stepanakert

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan has vandalized the Holy Mother of God Cathedral in occupied Stepanakert. Monument Watch, which monitors the cultural heritage of Artsakh, has reported this.

The report emphasizes that videos filmed by Azerbaijani users in  Stepanakert show two windows of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral  broken.

It notes that although the building is fully standing and externally  undamaged, the damage to the windows of this structure, which  represents the Armenian character of the city and was previously  undamaged, is concerning. This indicates that the monument has been  vandalized. "Unfortunately, we do not have recent photographs or  videos to assess the situation inside the church," the organization  reported, adding that the Holy Mother of God Cathedral in Stepanakert  was built in 2019 and is one of the city's important symbols.   Monument Watch emphasized that the deliberate damage to the  stained-glass windows of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral in  Stepanakert constitutes a grave violation of Article 4 of the 1954  Hague Convention and Article 9 of the Second Protocol to the 1999  Hague Convention.

Article 4(3) of the Hague Convention expressly obliges parties to  "prohibit, prevent, and, if necessary, suppress any form of theft,  pillage, or misappropriation of cultural property and any act of  vandalism." According to Article 9 of the 1999 Second Protocol, the  party in control of the territory is obliged to prohibit and prevent  any alteration to cultural property or any change in its use aimed at  concealing or destroying cultural or historical evidence. The  destruction of the church's exterior constitutes such an alteration.

As the party in control of Armenian cultural heritage, Azerbaijan  bears international legal responsibility for its failure to preserve  the integrity of cultural property and prevent acts of vandalism.  Since the church is an important symbol of the city's Armenian  identity, such actions are aimed at destroying traces of Armenian  cultural heritage in the territory, which is contrary to UNESCO  principles and international humanitarian law.

On December 7, 2021, the International Court of Justice applied  urgent measures and ordered Azerbaijan "to take all necessary  measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration  directed against Armenian cultural heritage, including churches and  other places of worship."

The damage to the church in Stepanakert means the state is failing to  comply with the binding decision of the highest international court.  Furthermore, according to the International Convention on the  Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, cultural vandalism  is often considered part of ethnic cleansing and racial  discrimination. Article 5 of the Convention guarantees the right of  everyone to equal participation in cultural life. Attacks on Armenian  religious monuments violate the fundamental right of the Armenians of  Artsakh to enjoy their cultural heritage.

Intentional damage to cultural heritage sites not used for military  purposes is considered a grave breach of Article 15 of the 1999 Hague  Protocol II, which may also entail criminal liability for  individuals.