"Yerevan Declaration" adopted as a result of the 8th Ministerial  Meeting of the Ancient Civilizations Forum

ArmInfo.The "Yerevan Declaration" was adopted as a result of the 8th Ministerial Meeting  of the Ancient Civilizations Forum.  As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the Ministers: participants of the meeting emphasized that damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind.

At the same time, they condemned the destruction, desecration, appropriation and denial of the  cultural heritage, inter alia destruction of religious sites and  artefacts, as well as the looting and smuggling of cultural property  in the event of armed conflicts.

The participants in the meeting emphasized that the destruction of  cultural heritage and the attempts to deny historical roots and  cultural diversity can fuel and exacerbate conflicts, thereby  undermining the security, stability, governance, social, economic and  cultural development of affected States, realization of human rights,  in particular cultural rights.  At the same time, the final  statement, among other things, calls on member States to cooperate  with the UNESCO in the field of monitoring, assessing and preserving  the endangered cultural heritage.  The participants also called on  the international organizations and specialized agencies to promote  and expand programmatic activities aimed at preservation of the  intangible cultural heritage of displaced populations.

They also agreed to expand cooperation on protection and preservation  of cultural heritage through the use of new technologies and  innovations, including information and communication technologies and  Artificial intelligence.  The representatives of the participating  States also condemned the destruction of cultural  and heritage sites  resulting from the ongoing conflicts.