Armenia received an invitation to participate in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Baku as a witness, which is taking place from June 30th to July 10th, back in April. However, its participation was prevented. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Naghdalyan spoke about this with reporters. “Armenia appealed to UNESCO for extra security for the Armenian delegation due to the ban on Armenians entering Azerbaijan and due to the anti-Armenian sentiment in the country,” she said.
She noted that there had been ongoing communication with UNESCO about this. “The secretariat made every effort to receive the appropriate assurances from Azeri authorities, but on June 28th, which was two days before the event began, the Armenian delegation received a letter from the head secretary of UNESCO stating that Azerbaijan refused to provide additional assurances for Armenians’ entry into the country and for their security.”
Therefore, according to Anna Naghdalyan, Azerbaijan prevented the participation of the Armenian delegation, which is a vicious precedence. “One member state is violating another member state’s right to participation. Armenia has officially filed a complaint with the leadership of UNESCO and the member states, which called upon them to condemn this action.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
