First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva addressed a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay, notifying about termination of her activities as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), according to the National Commission of Azerbaijan for UNESCO.
The letter emphasized the importance of numerous joint projects with the organization during the period of activity of Mehriban Aliyeva as a goodwill ambassador since 2004, in the areas of developing cooperation between Azerbaijan and UNESCO, promoting the values and principles of UNESCO.
In particular, the Framework Agreement signed between Azerbaijan and UNESCO in 2013, the relevant Azerbaijan-UNESCO Trust Fund, support for projects implemented in a number of countries in such areas as the preservation of cultural heritage, education of girls, gender equality and other areas were noted.
The letter also contains information about the policy and vandalism of Armenia in relation to the cultural heritage and historical monuments of Azerbaijan during the period of almost 30 years of occupation.
It was emphasized that given the current active involvement and special role of the First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, after the liberation of the Azerbaijani territories from the long-term occupation as a result of the 2020 second Karabakh war, in the work on large-scale restoration and revival of the region, performing the duties of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is beyond her capabilities.
In connection with the above, hope was expressed that in the near future a UNESCO mission will be organized to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan in order to assess the damage caused to the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenian occupation.
The letter noted that Azerbaijan will continue to adhere to the fundamental principles of UNESCO and promote the development of cooperation with the organization.
