Due to the long history of Armenian presence in the region, Nagorno-Karabakh has a significant concentration of Armenian monuments. There are around 500 historic sites, home to 6,00012 Armenian monuments. After a 10 month blockade followed by the September 2023 military assault causing the forcible displacement of 120,000 ethnic Armenians, Azerbaijan continued the practice of destroying Armenian churches or converting them to mosques. The future of these and other Armenian religious sites face an imminent danger of destruction or erasure.
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the systematic and widespread destruction and appropriation of cultural and religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh by the Republic of Azerbaijan, a pattern that continued in 2024. This ongoing erasure is carried out through various means, including but not limited to the deliberate desecration of cultural heritage, systematic historical revisionism, and denial of access to Armenian cultural heritage sites, all of which are clear breaches of international laws and conventions protecting cultural rights.
Azerbaijan’s acts of vandalism, destruction, and conversion are part of a broader, long-standing campaign to erase the historical and cultural ties of the ethnic Armenians to their indigenous lands in the South Caucasus. Beyond the destruction of historical landmarks, Azerbaijan’s actions constitute an attack on faith itself. Armenian churches and monasteries have long been places of worship, community and spiritual refuge. The deliberate desecration, destruction, and forced repurposing of these sacred sites are not only violations of cultural rights but also an assault on religious freedom, depriving displaced Armenians of their ability to practice their faith in their ancestral homeland. Through analysis of documented incidents and legal framework, this report aims to highlight the ongoing cultural erasure in the wake of the conflict and the urgent need for global efforts to protect cultural and religious heritage.
