UNESCO World Heritage Centre Deputy Director Jyoti Hosagrahar told NEWS.am in Yerevan that she could not comment on the destruction of Armenian churches in Occupied Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) because she was “not aware” of it. When the reporter raised reports of vandalism, she said she had to go.
NEWS.am spoke to Hosagrahar at an international meeting on nature and culture at the Matenadaran, Armenia’s institute of ancient manuscripts. Yerevan is hosting COP17, the UN Biodiversity Conference, from October 19 to 30, and UNESCO co-convened the conference’s Nature and Culture Summit.
On October 25, Hosagrahar spoke at the Matenadaran at a high-level event of the international working group on nature and culture, held within the framework of COP17. In her speech, she said Armenia has a rich historical, cultural and natural heritage, Aravot reported.
The reporter told Hosagrahar that Armenian society is concerned about the conservation of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh because of the many reports that churches there are being destroyed, and asked how UNESCO is responding.
“I cannot comment on churches being destroyed because I’m not aware of what churches are being destroyed,” Hosagrahar said, smiling, a glass of white wine in hand.
When the reporter said there are many reports of acts of vandalism, Hosagrahar closed her eyes and showed visible discomfort. “Sorry, I have to go,” she said.
Satellite imagery in April 2026 confirmed that Azerbaijan had razed the Holy Mother of God Cathedral in Stepanakert, the largest Armenian cathedral in Artsakh. The Armenian Apostolic Church consecrated the cathedral in 2019 after nearly 13 years of construction.
Azerbaijan’s government-controlled Islamic religious body defended the demolition. It claimed Azerbaijani authorities had “both legal and moral grounds” and said tearing down the building “cannot be considered a destruction of religious or cultural heritage.” The building it tore down was a consecrated Armenian cathedral. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin condemned the demolitions as “state-level vandalism” meant to “erase the Armenian trace from Artsakh.”
Azerbaijan’s September 2023 ethnic cleansing of Artsakh forcibly displaced 120,000 Armenians, including the Armenian population of Stepanakert. Azerbaijan continues to unlawfully hold Armenian hostages in Baku. After sham trials, Azerbaijani courts sentenced former Artsakh leaders and officials Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan and Davit Manukyan to life in prison, and Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years each.
UNESCO has received reports of the destruction. In October 2024, Krista Pikkat, Director of UNESCO’s Culture and Emergencies Entity, told Armenpress, “We have received reports from all different concerned parties about the alleged destruction.” She said UNESCO “has been monitoring the situation with concern.”
UNESCO tried to send a technical mission to Artsakh in 2020. In December 2020, UNESCO said it was waiting only on Azerbaijan’s response, having approached Azerbaijani authorities “several times without success.” The mission never took place.
In 2021, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Azerbaijan to prevent and punish vandalism and desecration of Armenian cultural heritage, including churches. Azerbaijan razed the Stepanakert cathedral more than 4 years later.
