On October 11, 2023, a video was broadcast on one of the Telegram channels, where it is clearly seen that the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage continues in the Hadrut region occupied by Baku. The video clearly shows that the monument dedicated to the Artsakh Liberation War in the village of Ukhtadzor of the Hadrut region of Artsakh was destroyed and overturned, individual parts of the monument were broken.

Recall that in 2021, as a result of Azerbaijani vandalism, the khachkar, which is part of the same cultural complex, was destroyed. The actions that are part of this continuous and unified chain prove that the destruction of cultural heritage is a strategy clearly developed by Baku. Under international humanitarian law, cultural heritage is considered an exclusive expression of human creative thought, the destruction or damage of which directly violates the cultural rights of individuals/community members during or after war.

Article 8 of the International Criminal Court considers the destruction of cultural heritage in occupied territories an international war crime. “It is prohibited to deliberately direct attacks against structures dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historical monuments, hospitals, if they do not constitute military targets. The destruction of cultural heritage in occupied territories during and after armed conflicts is also prohibited by UNESCO in 2003, adopted by the “Declaration on the Deliberate Destruction of Cultural Heritage”.

Article 9 of the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict also prohibits acts of destruction of cultural property in areas under enemy control.