As a collective Christian response to the forced displacement of the Armenian population and the ongoing destruction of their sacred heritage during a military operation by Azerbaijan in September 2023, the World Council of Churches (WCC), alongside the Protestant Church in Switzerland, convened a two-day conference in Bern, Switzerland, on the Preservation of Armenian Religious, Cultural and Historical Heritage in Artsakh and Nagorno Karabakh from 27-28 May.
The Council for World Mission (CWM), represented by Rev. Dr Graham McGeoch, Mission Secretary for Discipleship and Dialogue, also attended the conference which drew an international gathering of ecumenical and faith leaders committed to truth-telling, memory preservation, and coordinated global action to safeguard humanity’s shared legacy.
Armenians face forced displacement, heritage erasure
Over the two years since the Azerbaijani occupation, more than 120,000 Armenians were left homeless, many of whom had suffered repeated forced displacement during previous conflicts that took place in the 1990s.
Actively building upon current international legal frameworks, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and relevant UNESCO conventions, the conference was one that found itself deeply rooted in the principles of human dignity, religious freedoms, and cultural rights while recognising the inseparable relationships shared between cultural heritage and identity, and justice.
The conference sought to not only highlight the plight of the Armenians and bear witness to the widespread destruction of their sacred and cultural sites but also aimed to create a platform whereby the global church and its partners can reaffirm their moral imperatives, underscore spiritual responsibilities, and renew the community’s commitment to interfaith collaboration; while calling for coordinated international action to prevent further erasure of Armenian culture, support the return of native Armenians to their land, and to work actively towards the liberation of numerous Armenian hostages in captivity in Baku.
In a statement released after the conference, the WCC repeated its stance that the destruction of cultural heritage constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and an affront against humanity.
“We call on the international community, particularly the United Nations and UNESCO, to ensure accountability and uphold their mandates for the protection of cultural and religious heritage,” reads a statement released by the conference. “We also affirm the right of return of displaced populations to their ancestral lands under conditions of safety, dignity, and non-discrimination.”
Heritage protection a step towards reconciliation
Participants of the conference also heard firsthand accounts from survivors and representatives of Armenian communities from Artsakh and Nagorno Karabakh of the horrific conditions through which they had survived and drew invaluable lessons from similar cases of cultural destruction in history that have happened in other countries such as Cyprus, Greece, and Iraq.
“[This conference] asserts the importance of preserving memory and protecting identity in times of political transition and in contexts of occupation. Heritage, when protected, can be a source of reconciliation. When destroyed, it deepens trauma and injustice,” said the conference statement.
