On November 11, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting with Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay in Paris.

Ararat Mirzoyan congratulated Audrey Azoulay on the occasion of being re-elected in her position. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Director-General of UNESCO commended the effective cooperation between Armenia and UNESCO over the years.

Minister Ararat Mirzoyan noted that Armenia has always made utmost effort to support UNESCO in carrying out its important mission in the fields of education, science and culture based on common values. In this context, he stressed that the candidacy of Armenia for membership in the UNESCO Executive Board for 2021-2025 terms derives from the aspiration of increasing the efficiency of those efforts.

During the meeting the sides touched upon issues on protection of the Armenian historical-cultural and religious heritage in the territories fallen under the Azerbaijani control as a result of its aggression against Artsakh.

Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that amid the deliberate destruction or distortion of the identity of the Armenian historical-cultural monuments in Artsakh, which are part of the universal cultural heritage, the implementation of preventive measures by the international community is a direct imperative. In this context, the Foreign Minister of Armenia underlined the importance of the active involvement of UNESCO, particularly the need for implementing the proposal of the Director-General to send an independent assessment mission to the region within the framework of the 1954 “Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.”