On December 12, 2023, the meeting of the UNESCO Committee on the 1954 Hague Convention for the “Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and Protocol 2 of 1999” was held in Paris. During the meeting, the Republic of Armenia was elected a member of the Committee for a term of 4 years.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Alfred Kocharyan is leading the delegation from the Republic of Armenia. The delegation consists of personnel from the Republic of Armenia's Embassy in France, the UNESCO Representative Office in Paris, and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and ESCS.

In his speech, RA ESCS Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan addressed the issue of the endangered Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh and the UNESCO mission. Alfred Kocharyan pointed out that there is ample evidence of the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage and the elimination of Armenian traces in Nagorno-Karabakh, Nakhichevan region, and other areas of Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, the RA ESCS Deputy Minister emphasized that Azerbaijan has rejected the mission proposed by the UNESCO Director-General and supported by the Committee on the Second Protocol, for the past 3 years.

Alfred Kocharyan added that the UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights expressed her concern in the message to Azerbaijan regarding the ongoing destruction and appropriation of Armenian historical, cultural, and religious sites, which violate international human rights standards.