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Artsakh refugees gathered outside the UN Office in Yerevan on Tuesday, demanding pressure on Azerbaijan to stop the destruction of Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) cultural heritage.

The protesters demanded efforts to enforce the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders telling Baku to safeguard Armenian cultural heritage in its possession and to prevent the incitement of racial hatred and discrimination against Armenians issued on 7 December 2021 and 17 November 2023.

One of the protesters, Armina Avagimyan, pointed to Azerbaijan’s consistent efforts to erase traces of Armenian heritage in Artsakh, including the destruction of monuments, graves, churches and people’s property.

“We demand that the UN pressure Azerbaijan to preserve the private property and religious and cultural heritage in Artsakh before the Artsakh people’s return," she said.

The woman criticized the Armenian government’s efforts to ensure the repatriation of the Artsakh Armenians as inadequate.

“Attempts are being made to close the issue of Artsakh and the repatriation of its people. We were forced to leave our homeland to save our lives due to the risk of genocide, but we are not going to relinquish our rights and put up with the current situation,” she added.