The 5th panel is devoted to the topic "Protection of the historical, cultural, and natural heritage of Azerbaijan in the post-conflict period"

The second panel of the Cultural Heritage Forum, which took place on December 19, was devoted to the topic "Protection of the historical, cultural, and natural heritage of Azerbaijan in the post-conflict period". In the panel moderated by Tural Novruzov,Executive Director of the Administration of Shusha City State Reserve, speeches were heard on the topics of "Historical and cultural heritage of Karabagh and Eastern Zangazur before and after the occupation", "Monitoring of monuments located in the territory of Karabagh and Eastern Zangazur and related challenges", "History and cultural heritage of our people in the territory of Western Azerbaijan", "Ensuring the protection, research and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of our people in the territory of Western Azerbaijan" and the "Issues of application of international conventions on the protection of cultural resources".

First, a video prepared by the Ministry of Culture on the topic of the panel was shown. Ambassador Elman Abdullayev,Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO, spoke about the relations between our country and the organization, and noted that the visionary activities of the national leader Heydar Aliyev are the basis of these relations. It was reported that First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva has played a great role in making Azerbaijan's voice heard at UNESCO. The diplomat said that systematic steps should be taken to convey our true voice to the world, and demonstrate the vandalism committed by Armenian vandals against our cultural heritage. Head of Department at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Aytan Seyidova spoke about the rich flora and fauna of Azerbaijan. She said that there are 6 natural monuments in the liberated territories, 2 of them are nature reserves, and 4 of them are protected areas. A large part of those territories was destroyed by Armenians during the occupation. Nazim Mustafa, an employee of the ANAS History Institute, emphasized that "Armenian province" was created artificially after the occupation of Iravan and Nakhchivan khanates by Russia in 1827. Armenians lived around Armenian churches in 62 villages out of 1111 settlements that existed in that area.

Farhad Guliyev, acting director general of the ANAS Institute of Archaeology, Ethnography, and Anthropology, spoke about the acts of vandalism committed by the Armenian invaders in Karabakh and East Zangezur. He said that during the occupation, Armenians even destroyed cemeteries. The Head of the Fundraising and Communication Department of the Karabakh Revival Fund, Parvin Baghirova, provided information about the mission and activities of the foundation and spoke about the importance of protecting our cultural heritage. She noted that the cultural heritage of a country is its history. When traveling to a country, first of all, we explore its historical and cultural monuments. Therefore, the protection of our material and cultural heritage is of great importance.

Azer Ibrahimov, a photojournalist of the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), reported on his photo shoots in Karabakh. He said that immediately after the end of the Patriotic War, the film crews of AZERTAC went to the liberated areas and worked tirelessly day and night to convey the traces of Armenian vandalism in our hometowns and villages to the international community, and the work in this direction continues. After the speeches, opinions were exchanged and questions were answered.