On April 15, on the occasion of the Universal Day of Culture, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Artsakh Republic Gegham Stepanyan, from the Amaras monastery, sent a message to the international community, which reads as follows:

Today is the Universal Day of Culture, and now I am standing next to one of the most important Armenian cultural monuments in Artsakh, Amaras Monastery that dates to the 4th century. Amaras is one of the thousands of monuments that prove the centuries-long Armenian existence in Artsakh.

The war provoked by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh in September 2020 and its aftermath put the Armenian cultural property of the region into a real threat. We could save Amaras, yet thousands of monuments were left out of our control. And now we witness the barbaric treatment of our cultural monuments by the Azerbaijanis. They vandalize, desecrate, dishonor, destruct the Armenian churches, cross-stones (khachkars), monuments, cemeteries, and sanctuaries.

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict highlights that damage to the cultural property of any nation equally applies to all humanity. And yes, the civilized world is responsible for the preservation of the Armenian culture. Unfortunately, to date, no steps have been taken in this direction due to artificial obstacles created by Azerbaijan.

On this important day devoted to the preservation of culture, from this holy place, I would like to once again appeal to the international community, to all the stakeholder organizations and individuals who struggle for the preservation of cultural property: don’t be indifferent to the crimes committed against the Armenian culture.

Take this message as an alarm to ignore any political obstacle that may hinder the protection of the cultural rights of the people of Artsakh. Make your step to save the centuries-old Armenian culture, which belongs not only to Armenians but to the whole humanity.”