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A New Framework for Cultural Heritage Protection through the CERD: Armenia v. Azerbaijan

September 5, 2024

map of Armenia and Azerbaijan

By Isabelle Kapoian, under the guidance of Yelena Ambartsumian, Esq.

Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh, a region where Armenian communities have existed ancestrally for centuries, is not safe. Considering Azerbaijan’s policies of erasure of countless churches, cemeteries, and other historically and culturally important constructions and artifacts, Armenia has turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for relief through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). In this precedential case, the ICJ issued a provisional measure binding Azerbaijan to cease its destruction of Armenian tangible cultural heritage. Though Armenia v. Azerbaijan is still pending before the ICJ (a public hearing was held in April of 2024), a judgment in Armenia’s favor could finally hold Azerbaijan accountable and carve a legal framework of relief for other marginalized groups facing state policies of cultural erasure.

The Present Case

In the South Caucasus, a region comprised of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, a cultural genocide is underway. For decades, Azerbaijan has pursued an exclusive ethno-territorial state policy through ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction aimed at the eradication of the Armenian physical and historical presence. From 1997–2006 in exclave of Nakhichevan, which borders Armenia and Turkey, Azerbaijan expelled Nakhichevan’s Armenian population and destroyed 98 percent of its Armenian cultural heritage.[1] This included the razing of medieval churches and tens of thousands of historic tombstones and ancient khachkars (intricately carved, free-standing cross-stones)[2] without legal or political consequences.[3]

Azerbaijan has continued this policy in Artsakh (also known as Nagorno Karabakh), a region where Armenian communities have lived for centuries.[4] In September 2023, after enforcing an illegal nine-month blockade and military offensive against Artsakh,[5] Azerbaijan military attacked Artsakh and succeeded in expelling its ethnic Armenian population, creating over 120,000 refugees and eradicating the Armenian presence that had existed there for at least two thousand years.[6] Regarding Azerbaijan’s treatment of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh, thus far it has shelled the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral;[7] destroyed churches including Zoravor Surb Astvatsatsin,[8] St. Sargis,[9] and St. Hovhannes;[10] damaged museums;[11] leveled the village of Karintak;[12] desecrated and demolished khachkars (carved Armenian cross-stones);[13] and razed cemeteries like Mets T’agher.[14] Azerbaijan has additionally systematically erased distinctly Armenian elements, including inscriptions and symbols, from Armenian monuments through purported “restoration” (see: the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral)[15] to falsely reclassify the monuments as exclusively Caucasian Albanian.[16]

The threat of destruction for the remaining Armenian heritage in Artsakh is especially grave; the final vestige of the Armenian ancestral presence there is its cultural heritage—likely making it Azerbaijan’s next target. The threatened heritage includes an estimated 500 historical sites and 6,000 monuments[17]—including the first Armenian-written-language school,[18] the monastic complex of Dadivank established in the 9th century on the grave of the disciple Dadi,[19] the 13th-century monastery Gandzasar,[20] the Hellenistic city-ruins of Tigranakert,[21] countless other churches and khachkars,[22] and innumerable cultural objects that have informed Armenian cultural traditions for centuries.

UNESCO’s Inefficacy

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been unable to safeguard Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh or Azerbaijan; its treaties generally lack “clear substantive rights to cultural heritage for individuals and communities” and do not penalize states for destroying cultural heritage.[23] Of UNESCO’s cultural heritage treaties, some apply only during armed conflict (e.g., the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol),[24] and fail to protect Armenian heritage during peacetime.[25] However, Azerbaijan executed some of its most egregious policies of cultural destruction during a time of supposed “peace” when it almost completely eradicated the Armenian cultural heritage in Nakhichevan.[26] UNESCO was additionally ineffectual when it proposed a mission in Artsakh to monitor the status of Armenian cultural sites after Azerbaijan’s initial military offensive in late 2020; however, Azerbaijan’s objection barred UNESCO’s Second Protocol Committee from conducting any fact-finding in the region.[27]

Other treaties prioritize state sovereignty and require the consent of the Member State that houses the cultural heritage for UNESCO’s committees to assist in safeguarding the heritage (e.g., the Intangible Heritage Convention, and the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Convention).[28] Because Azerbaijan will likely never request assistance to preserve Armenian heritage within its borders, other UN Member States cannot request to do so. Moreover, Artsakh is not a Member State that could itself consent to receive UNESCO assistance, so these treaties are ineffectual in protecting Armenian cultural heritage in the present situation.[29]

Even if applicable, UNESCO cultural heritage instruments lack inhibitory consequences and enforcement mechanisms for offending states. In practice, the only consequences UNESCO can exercise against a state are to condemn the state’s actions publicly,[30] to remove the state’s cultural heritage from UNESCO’s World Heritage List[31] (though UNESCO has only ever delisted three sites),[32] and to cease to provide the state with financial or technical assistance. However, the latter consequence incorrectly presupposes that Azerbaijan has an interest in allocating resources to preserving Armenian cultural heritage.

It would appear that, UNESCO has contributed to Azerbaijan’s artwashing by hosting the 2013 exhibit Azerbaijan – A Land of Tolerance at its Paris headquarters, naming Azerbaijan’s Vice President and First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, a Goodwill Ambassador, and hosting an annual World Heritage Committee session in Azerbaijan.[34]

In the opinion of the authors, UNESCO is a biased actor complicit in Azerbaijan’s cultural destruction. UNESCO has inaccurately and detrimentally given equal weight to Armenia and Azerbaijan’s conduct regarding the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, engaging in both-sides-ism despite the two countries’ power differential.[33]

Armenia’s Turn to the International Court of Justice through the CERD

In 2021, Armenia sought relief through the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (“the CERD”).[35] The CERD is a human rights treaty adopted in 1965 that condemns and protects against racial discrimination based on, among other characteristics, national or ethnic origin.[36] Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are signatories.[37]

On September 16, 2021, Armenia instituted proceedings against Azerbaijan (Armenia v. Azerbaijan) and made a request for provisional measures before the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) based on Azerbaijan’s alleged violations of the CERD.[38] Armenia filed suit broadly on behalf of “individuals of Armenian ethnic or national origin (‘Armenians’).”[39]

Armenia claims that Azerbaijan violated the CERD by “systematically destroying and falsifying Armenian cultural sites and heritage” in Artsakh.[40] It argues that Article 5(e)(vi) of the CERD, which establishes the right to “equal participation in cultural activities” at all times, includes the “right to protection and preservation of Armenian historic, cultural, and religious heritage.”[41] Armenia also requested provisional measures to enjoin Azerbaijan’s destruction and falsification of Armenian cultural heritage, the erasure of the Armenian historical presence, and the inhibition of Armenians’ access to and enjoyment of their cultural heritage.[42]

The ICJ granted Armenia’s request for provisional measures on December 7, 2021, and was empowered to indicate provisional measures after finding that there was ”a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights [Armenia] claimed before the Court gives its final decision.”[43] By a vote of thirteen to two (with Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia and ad hoc Judge Keith of New Zealand dissenting), the ICJ ruled that ”Azerbaijan shall [t]ake all necessary measures to prevent and punish [] vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and art[i]facts[.]”[44]

This proceeding is significant because it represents the first time that rights related to tangible cultural heritage have been brought before the ICJ through the CERD, and it is the only CERD proceeding in which the ICJ has granted a provisional measure to safeguard these rights and tangible cultural heritage.[45]

Benefits and Shortcomings of CERD

The CERD has certain advantages for pursuing cultural heritage destruction claims. First, unlike other human rights treaties, the dispute alleging CERD violation could be heard by the ICJ without Azerbaijan’s consent (Article 22).[46] In addition, Armenia was entitled to invoke Azerbaijan’s responsibilities under the CERD despite the harm having occurred outside of the Republic of Armenia’s territory (per Article 11).[47]

There are, however, two major shortcomings. The first is enforceability: despite the December 7 provisional measure being binding on Azerbaijan,[48] Azerbaijan has already violated it by destroying St. Sargis Church in 2022,[49] the Halevor Bridge in 2023,[50] and razing Kanach Zham Chapel, the village of Karintak, and Ghazanchetsots Cemetery last April.[51] Therefore, under Article 94(2) of the UN Charter, Armenia “may have recourse to the Security Council . . . to give effect” to the provisional measure.[52] The Security Council, however, has never invoked these powers.[53] Second, this case will likely be lengthy; an ICJ decision on the merits can take several years. For example, Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro took almost 14 years to reach a final decision.[54] Ultimately, with the current speed at which Azerbaijan is destroying Armenian heritage,[55] waiting for a final decision may be too late to save Armenian heritage on the territories controlled by Azerbaijan, if the provisional measures are not enforced.[56]

The Path Forward

Though Armenia v. Azerbaijan is still pending before the ICJ, an enforced judgment in Armenia’s favor could help cease Azerbaijan’s cultural erasure and finally hold it accountable for decades of destruction. More significantly, though ICJ decisions only have binding force on the parties to the dispute,[57] it may create persuasive case precedent that broadens the scope of the CERD’s right to “equal cultural participation in cultural activities”[58] and carve a legal path of relief for marginalized groups facing cultural genocide. Although CERD proceedings must be filed with the ICJ through a Member State, it only takes one allied Member State to initiate a proceeding before the ICJ on behalf of a marginalized group facing state policies of cultural erasure. This legal framework may ultimately impress and redistribute the collective responsibility of nation-states to protect the world heritage of marginalized groups beyond their territory.

Suggested Readings & Media:

  • Articles: Alexander Herman, A New Take on Cultural Heritage at the ICJ – Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Inst. Art & L. (Feb. 17, 2022), available here; Simon Maghakyan & Sarah Pickman, A Regime Conceals Its Erasure of Indigenous Armenian Culture, Hyperallergic (Feb. 18, 2019), available here.
  • Reports: Caucasus Heritage Watch, December 2023 Report and June 2024 Report, available here.
  • Lecture: The University of Chicago Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Dumanian Lecture Series, Towards an Armenian Futurism, organized by Sylvia Alajaji, featuring Mashinka Firunts Hakopian, Kamee Abrahamian, and Hrag Vartanian (May 20, 2021), available here.
  • Book: Christina Maranci, The Art of Armenia: An Introduction (Oxford Univ. Press, 2018).
  • Interactive Maps: Caucasus Heritage Watch, Map of Impacted Sites Identified during Satellite Monitoring, available here; Monument Watch, Map of Armenian Cultural Heritage, available here.

About the Authors

Isabelle Kapoian is a third-year student at Rutgers Law School with an undergraduate degree in economics with a concentration in global trade and finance, and minors in art and international affairs. At Rutgers Law, Isabelle is a member of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team and Alternative Dispute Resolution Team and is an Associate Editor for the Rutgers Law Record Journal.

This article was researched and edited under the guidance of Yelena Ambartsumian, Esq. Yelena is a New York-based attorney and founder of AMBART LLC, a law firm that focuses on art, AI, privacy, and IP law. She has researched and authored several articles related to cultural heritage in Artsakh and the legal mechanisms that could, with enough political will, serve to safeguard such heritage.

Bibliography:

  1. E.g., Dale B. Sawa, Monumental Loss: Azerbaijan and ‘the Worst Cultural Genocide of the 21st Century, Guardian (Mar. 1, 2019), https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/01/monumental-loss-azerbaijan-cultural-genocide-khachkars; Simon Maghakyan & Sarah Pickman, A Regime Conceals Its Erasure of Indigenous Armenian Culture, Hyperallergic (Feb. 18, 2019), https://hyperallergic.com/482353/a-regime-conceals-its-erasure-of-indigenous-armenian-culture/; Simon Maghakyan, Special Investigation: Declassified Satellite Images Show Erasure of Armenian Churches, Art Newspaper (June 1, 2021) [hereinafter Maghakyan, Special Investigation], https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/06/01/special-investigation-declassified-satellite-images-show-erasure-of-armenian-churches; Armen Haghnazarian & Dieter Wickmann, AZERBAIJAN: Destruction of the Armenian Cemetery of Djulfa, ICOMOS Heritage at Risk (June 2007), https://www.icomos.org/risk/world_report/2006-2007/pdf/H@R_2006-2007_09_National_Report_Azerbaijan.pdf; Amos Chapple, When the World Looked Away: The Destruction of Julfa Cemetery, Radio Free Eur. Radio Liberty (Dec. 10, 2020), https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-julfa-cemetery-destruction-unesco-culturalheritage/30986581.html?fbclid=IwAR38guzAYkn3_fnSCPl3XoD8iBeNxJOdcjcw4fb4V8HW9ZvNLzNKn-uwM0M; High-Resolution Satellite Imagery and the Destruction of Cultural Artifacts in Nakhchivan, Am. Ass’n for the Advancement of Sci., (Dec. 5, 2010) [hereinafter High-Resolution Satellite Imagery], http://www.aaas.org/resources/high-resolution-satellite-imagery-and-destruction-cultural-artifacts-nakhchivan-azerbaijan; Lindsay Khatchadourian, Adam T. Smith, Husik Ghulyan & Ian Lindsay, CHW Special Report # 1—Silent Erasure: A Satellite Investigation of the Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Caucasus Heritage Watch (Sept. 2022), https://indd.adobe.com/embed/2a6c8a55-75b0-4c78-8932-dc798a9012fb?startpage=1&allowFullscreen=true. ↑
  2. Armenian Cross-stones Art. Symbolism and Craftsmanship of Khachkars, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/armenian-cross-stones-art-symbolism-and-craftsmanship-of-khachkars-00434 (last visited Sept. 2, 2024). . ↑
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  5. Ewelina U. Ochab, Lachin Corridor Blockade Starves Nagorno-Karabakh, Forbes (Aug. 8, 2023), https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2023/08/08/lachin-corridor-blockade-starves-nagorno-karabakh/?sh=4d8a7ff933b6; Svante Lundgren, Nagorno-Karabakh: The World Should Have Seen This Crisis Coming – And It’s Not Over Yet, Conversation, https://theconversation.com/nagorno-karabakh-the-world-should-have-seen-this-crisis-coming-and-its-not-over-yet-214663 (Oct. 2, 2023). ↑
  6. Patrick Reevell, Nagorno-Karabakh Enclave Emptied After Entire Ethnic Armenian Population Flees, ABC News (Oct. 2, 2023), https://abcnews.go.com/International/nagorno-karabakh-enclave-emptied-entire-armenian-population-flees/story?id=103655356; Resolution on the Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh After Azerbaijan’s Attack and the Continuing Threats Against Armenia, European Parliament (Oct. 5, 2023), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0356_EN.html. ↑
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  12. Complete Destruction of the Village of Karintak by Azerbaijan, Monument Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/complete-destruction-of-the-village-of-karintak-by-azerbaijan/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  13. Destruction of Khachkars Caused by Azerbaijan in the Occupied Territories of Artsakh, Monument Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/destruction-of-khachkars-caused-by-azerbaijan-in-the-occupied-territories-of-artsakh/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024); Destruction of the Cemetery and Khachkars in Lachin, Monument Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/destruction-of-the-cemetery-and-khachkars-in-lachin/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024); Destruction of a Khachkar in Kyuratagh Village, Hadrut, Monument Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/destruction-of-a-khachkar-in-kyuratagh-village-hadrut/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024); Destruction of a Khachkar in Arakel Village of Hadrut Region, Monument Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/destruction-of-a-khachkar-in-arakel-village-of-hadrut-region/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024); Azerbaijanis Reportedly Damage Historical Khachkar Monument in Martakert City, Monument Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/alerts/azerbaijanis-reportedly-damage-historical-khachkar-monument-in-martakert-city/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  14. Ian Lindsay, Adam T. Smith & Lindsay Khatchadourian, Caucasus Heritage Watch: Monitoring Report # 2, Caucasus Heritage Watch (Sept. 2021), https://indd.adobe.com/embed/73cac945-7eb0-4f25-95a0-caf2afe7964c?startpage=1&allowFullscreen=true. ↑
  15. Simon Maghakyan, Cultural Erasure May Spark Next Nagorno-Karabakh War, Asia Times (Nov. 16, 2020), https://www.asiatimes.com/2020/11/cultural-erasure-may-spark-next-nagorno-karabakh-war. ↑
  16. Hum. Rts. Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh, Ad Hoc Public Report: The Armenian Cultural Heritage in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh): Cases of Vandalism and at Risk of Destruction by Azerbaijan (Jan. 26, 2021), https://armenianbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/6.-Final-Report-on-Armenian-cultural-heritage-26.01.2021_0.pdf. ↑
  17. Simon Maghakyan, Artsakh Heritage: What Is Happening to Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian Monuments, EVN Report (Nov. 27, 2023), https://evnreport.com/politics/artsakh-heritage-what-is-happening-to-nagorno-karabakhs-armenian-monuments/. ↑
  18. History and Architecture, Amaras, https://www.amaras.org/history-and-architecture/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  19. Dadivank. About Saint Dadi and his grave, Monuments Watch, https://monumentwatch.org/en/monument/dadivank-about-saint-dadi-and-his-grave/ (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  20. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Gandzasar.com, https://www.gandzasar.com/cathedral-of-st-john-baptist.htm, (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  21. Simon Maghakyan, Archeologist Raises Alarms Over Azerbaijan’s Shelling of an Ancient City, Hyperallergic (Oct. 3, 2020), https://hyperallergic.com/592287/tigranakert-artsakh-nagorno-karabakh-war/. ↑
  22. Christina Maranci, The Medieval Armenian Monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh Must be Protected, Apollo Mag. (Dec. 9, 2020), https://www.apollo-magazine.com/medieval-armenian-monuments-nagorno-karabakh/. For examples of Armenian iconography on stonework, see Armenian Cross-Stones Art. Symbolism and Craftsmanship of Khachkars, UNESCO, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/armenian-cross-stones-art-symbolism-and-craftsmanship-of-khachkars-00434 (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  23. Marc-André Renold & Alessandro Chechi, International Human Rights Law and Cultural Heritage, Getty Publ’ns (2022), https://www.getty.edu/publications/cultural-heritage-mass-atrocities/part-4/23-renold-chechi/. ↑
  24. Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, May 14, 1954, 249 U.N.T.S. 215; Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, opened for signature Mar. 26, 1999, 2253 U.N.T.S. 172. ↑
  25. Maria T. Cannon, Armenian Cultural Heritage at Risk, Amineddoleh & Associates LLC (Sept. 29, 2023), https://www.artandiplawfirm.com/armenian-cultural-heritage-at-risk/. ↑
  26. See, e.g., Sawa, supra note 1; Maghakyan & Pickman, supra note 1; Chapple, supra note 1; High-Resolution Satellite Imagery, supra note 1; Lindsay Khatchadourian et al., supra note 1. ↑
  27. UNESCO Is Awaiting Azerbaijan’s Response Regarding Nagorno-Karabakh Mission, UNESCO (Dec. 21, 2020), https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-awaiting-azerbaijans-response-regarding-nagorno-karabakh-mission?page=404; Nagorno-Karabakh: Reaffirming the Obligation to Protect Cultural Goods, UNESCO Proposes Sending a Mission to the Field to All Parties, UNESCO, https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/nagorno-karabakh-reaffirming-obligation-protect-cultural-goods-unesco-proposes-sending-mission-field (Apr. 20, 2023); Permanent Representative of Armenia, Letter Dated 27 April 2022 from the Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General (Apr. 28, 2022), https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3972513?ln=es&v=pdf; Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE, Statement “Humanitarian Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh” (Feb. 9, 2023), https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/f/9/537702.pdf; Azerbaijan Responds to UNESCO Statement on Nagorno-Karabakh, Caucasus Watch, (Dec. 22, 2020), https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/azerbaijan-responds-to-unesco-statement-on-nagorno-karabakh.html. ↑
  28. See, e.g., Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, art. 11(3), Nov. 16, 1972, 1037 U.N.T.S. 151; Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, art. 23, Oct. 17, 2003, 2368 U.N.T.S. 3. ↑
  29. Renold & Chechi, supra note 23; Vanessa Tünsmeyer, Bridging the Gap Between International Human Rights and International Cultural Heritage Law Instruments: A Functions Approach, in Intersections in International Cultural Heritage Law 319 (Anne-Marie Carstens & Elizabeth Varner eds., 2020); Yvonne Donders, Cultural Heritage and Human Rights, in The Oxford Handbook on International Cultural Heritage Law (Francesco Francioni & Ana F. Vrdoljak eds., 2020). ↑
  30. See, e.g., Odesa: UNESCO Strongly Condemns Attack on World Heritage Property, UNESCO (July 21, 2023), https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/odesa-unesco-strongly-condemns-attack-world-heritage-property. ↑
  31. Simon Usborne, Is UNESCO Damaging the World’s Treasures?, Independent (Apr. 29, 2009), http://independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/is-unesco-damaging-the-worlds-treasures-1675637.html. ↑
  32. See, e.g., Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, UNESCO World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/654 (last visited Sept. 1, 2024); UNESCO Removes Oman Oryx Sanctuary from Heritage List, Reuters (Aug. 9, 2007, 5:10 PM), https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL3065930320070630/; Dresden Elbe Valley, UNESCO World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1156/ (last visited Sept. 1, 2024); Kate Connolly & Agencies in Berlin, Bridge Takes Dresden Off Unesco World Heritage List, Guardian (June 25, 2009, 3:30 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/25/dresden-bridge-unesco-heritage-status; Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City, UNESCO World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1150/ (last visited Sept. 1, 2024); World Heritage Committee Deletes Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City from UNESCO’s World Heritage List, UNESCO World Heritage Convention (July 21, 2021), https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2314; see also Gelati Monastery, Georgia, Removed from UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, UNESCO World Heritage Convention (July 10, 2017), https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1692. ↑
  33. Luke Harding, Bulgaria to Investigate $3bn Azerbaijan Laundromat Claims, Guardian (Sept. 7, 2017, 10:43 AM), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/07/bulgaria-to-investigate-azerbaijan-money-laundering-claims; Dorian Batycka, Armenian Monuments in Line of Fire in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, Art Newspaper (Oct. 26, 2020), https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/10/26/armenian-monuments-in-line-of-fire-in-nagorno-karabakh-conflict. ↑
  34. Harding, supra note 33; Khadjia Ismayilova, Azerbaijani Laundromat Shows How Regime Robs Its People to Feed Itself, Guardian (Sept. 5, 2017, 1:00 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/azerbaijani-laundromat-shows-how-regime-robs-its-people-to-feed-itself; Nevdon Jamgochian, Artwashing a Dictatorship, Hyperallergic ( Feb. 28, 2021), https://hyperallergic.com/615519/artwashing-a-dictatorship/; Simon Maghakyan, This Year’s UNESCO Session Was an Insult to World Heritage, Hyperallergic (July 9, 2019), https://hyperallergic.com/508663/2019-unesco/. ↑
  35. International Court of Justice, Application Instituting Proceedings Containing a Request for Provisional Measures, (Sept. 16, 2021), [hereinafter Application Instituting Proceedings], https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/180/180-20210916-APP-01-00-EN.pdf. ↑
  36. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 1, Mar. 7, 1966, 660 U.N.T.S. 1 [hereinafter Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination]. ↑
  37. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, United Nations Treaty Collection, https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280008954 (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  38. Application Instituting Proceedings, supra note 35. ↑
  39. Id. para. 2. ↑
  40. Id. para. 96. ↑
  41. Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, supra note 36, at art. 5. ↑
  42. Application Instituting Proceedings, supra note 35, at para. 131. ↑
  43. International Court of Justice, Order of 7 December 2021, para. 69–71 (Dec. 7, 2021), [hereinafter Order of 7 December] https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/180/180-20211207-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf. ↑
  44. Id. para. 98(1)(c). ↑
  45. Lando Kirchmair, Cultural Heritage and the International Court of Justice: Application of theInternational Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), Provisional Measures, Order of 7 December 2021, 29 Int’l J. Cultural Prop. 563, 563–75 (2022); Alexander Herman, A New Take on Cultural Heritage at the ICJ – Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Inst. Art & L. (Feb. 17, 2022), https://ial.uk.com/new-take-icj/; see also List of All Cases, Int’l Ct. of Justice, https://www.icj-cij.org/list-of-all-cases (last visited Aug. 31, 2024). ↑
  46. Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, supra note 36, art. 22. ↑
  47. Id. art. 11. ↑
  48. Order of 7 December, supra note 43, at para. 96. ↑
  49. St. Sargis of Mokhrenes/Susanlyg, Caucasus Heritage Watch (Nov. 8, 2023), https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/6e1857df92c548e6a4722070416f3111?fbclid=IwAR3R78n887Yi8Ak3xgApGTk_aRUqDvd4jEzhCiBv-w_kFVxQVjb5JTE7WYY. ↑
  50. Azerbaijan Destroys Havelor Bridge in Hadrut, Artsakh, First Channel News (June 15, 2023, 10:59 AM), https://www.1lurer.am/en/2023/06/15/Azerbaijan-destroys-Havelor-Bridge-in-Hadrut-Artsakh/946648. ↑
  51. Azerbaijanis Completely Destroy “Kanach Zham” Church and Ghazanchetsots Cemetery in Shushi, MassisPost (April 20, 2024), https://massispost.com/2024/04/azerbaijanis-completely-destroy-kanach-zham-church-and-ghazanchetsots-cemetery-in-shushi/; Amos Chapple, Church, Entire Village ‘Erased’ In Azerbaijan’s Recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh, Radio Free Eur. Radio Liberty (Apr. 24, 2024, 11:04 AM), https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-heritage-destruction-karintak-dasalti/32918998.html; Destruction Alert: Ghazanchetsots Cemetery, Shusha/Shushi, Caucasus Heritage Watch (Apr. 20, 2024), https://caucasusheritage.cornell.edu/?p=1593. ↑
  52. U.N. Charter, art. 94, ¶ 2. ↑
  53. Irène Couzigou, Enforcement of UN Security Council Resolutions and of ICJ Judgments: The Unreliability of Political Enforcement Mechanisms, in The Enforcement of EU Law and Values: Ensuring Member States’ Compliance 363, 363–78 (András Jakob & Dimitry Kochenov eds., 2017). ↑
  54. T.D. Gill, The “Genocide” Case: Reflections on the ICJ’s Decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia, Hague Justice J. (2007), https://www.elevenjournals.com/tijdschrift/hjj/2007/1/HJJ_187-4202_2007_002_001_004.pdf. ↑
  55. See sources supra note 1. ↑
  56. Yelena Ambartsumian, International Court of Justice Rules Azerbaijan Must Stop Destroying Armenian Cultural Heritage in Artsakh, Hyperallergic (Dec. 7, 2021), https://hyperallergic.com/698344/icj-rules-azerbaijan-must-stop-destroying-armenian-cultural-heritage-in-artsakh/. ↑
  57. Statute of the International Court of Justice, art. 59, Oct. 24, 1945. ↑
  58. Herman, supra note 45. ↑

 

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to provide legal advice. Readers should not construe or rely on any comment or statement in this article as legal advice. For legal advice, readers should seek a consultation with an attorney.

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