Azerbaijani rep to UNESCO hails contribution to protection of intangible cultural heritage

The 10th session of the partner countries of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has started at UNESCO headquarters.

Azerbaijan is represented at the session by the country's Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, according to Azertag.

Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to UNESCO Elman Abdullayev announced a national statement on the first day of the session. Stressing Azerbaijan's commitment to the values and principles of the Convention, he said that Azerbaijan contributes to the protection of intangible cultural heritage during armed conflicts and natural disasters.

Abdullayev informed the session participants that the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in the liberated territories was destroyed during the 30-year Armenian occupation. He noted that as a result of the occupation of the Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, about one million refugees and internally displaced people were deprived of their intangible cultural heritage, namely, carpet weaving, the art of mugham (traditional musical form, characterised by a large degree of improvisation) and Chovqan (traditional Karabakh horse-riding game).

The diplomat reminded that the “Kharibulbul” International Music Festival, held annually in Shusha, this year coincided with the opening ceremony of the event on the occasion of the announcement of Shusha city in 2024 as the “Cultural Capital of the Islamic World”. He also reminded about the holding of the ninth meeting of UNESCO national commissions of TURKSOY member states in Shusha in 2023, noting the importance of these events in terms of the protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage.

The permanent representative also emphasised the importance of the problem of the impact of climate change on intangible cultural heritage for Azerbaijan.