During the sitting of the Council of the UNESCO International Bureau of Education, Arkady Papoyan, Head of the Foreign Relations and Diaspora Department of the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, who chairs the Council, made a statement. He reported on the aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces along the entire line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan since 27 September, 2020, which also targeted peaceful settlements, including the capital Stepanakert.

“Targeting educational institutions by the Azerbaijani armed forces is inadmissible and should be condemned unanimously. There are casualties among the civilian population of Artsakh due to the shelling. Azerbaijani armed forces also attacked military-civilian infrastructure in the Vardenis region,” Arkady Papoyan said.

Emphasizing the role and significance of UNESCO in the modern world in overcoming modern challenges, sustainable development of education, and ensuring the right of children to education, as well as being a founding member of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), to condemn the aggression of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan towards the Artsakh Republic.

The meeting adopted the financial report for 2019, discussed the new strategic approaches to the activities of the Council, as well as the new challenges in the field of education due to the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic. Notably, on 21 January, 2020, in Geneva, by the decision of the Council of the UNESCO International Bureau of Education, Armenia was elected Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Council for 2020-2021.