This article has addressed the realization of cultural rights for the Artsakh Armenians forcibly displaced from the Hadrut region as a result of the 44-day war of 2020, focusing on the obstacles to preserving intangible heritage. Approximately 13,000 residents were displaced from Hadrut and its 48 settlements, facing numer-ous humanitarian and socio-economic challenges, including the deprivation of their fundamental right to culture.

Based on in-depth and focus group interviews conducted in Syunik, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, Kotayk, Shirak marzes of the RA, and Yerevan, as well as a review of international legal and theoretical materials, this research identifies the myriad issues faced by the indigenous people of Hadrut due to the restriction of their cultural rights. By halting the re-creation of intangible cultural values and disrupting the community life of the Artsakh people, Azerbaijan has directly attacked their cultural rights, damaging collective identity and continuity.

The findings indicate that the displaced Hadrut residents in Armenia experience significant negative consequences, including the inability to fully preserve their cultural identity, community life, and family customs and traditions. They face obstacles to realizing both individual and collective cultural rights, encompassing the ability to communicate, participate in, and contribute to cultural values. The destruction of historical cemeteries and ancestral memories, alongside the threat to the continuity of Hadrut’s regional dialects, underscores the gravity of their cultural loss.

The obliteration of Hadrut’s cultural communities has also resulted in the loss of significant intangible cultural heritage linked to the natural landscape and community of Artsakh. This includes traditional practices such as making “jengyal” bread, “kurkut”, “khashil”, “kachap soup”, “round gata”, and the distillation of mulber-ry “doshab”. The destruction of these practices has disrupted community life and posed challenges to preserving cultural integrity.

Holidays, integral to the lifestyle of Hadrut’s residents and typically celebrated in conjunction with tangible cultural structures (e.g., Kataro Monastery, Gtchavank, Spitak Khach Monastery), can no longer be observed in their traditional form. The displacement has also halted non-material handicraft practices, including carpet making, tonir baking, barrel making, woodworking, blacksmithing, pottery, and cultural festivals associated with intangible values such as wine and grape traditions, painting, and national traditional games.

International laws, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and various UNE-SCO regulations, document that among the effects of forced displacement, the most destructive is the obstruction of a group’s cultural rights and the impact on their heritage. This particularly affects the ability of individuals and communities to access and preserve their cultural heritage in both material and non-material forms. Consequently, the obstruction of the right to culture deprives future generations of Hadrut Armenians of the opportunity for self-recognition and development.

Through a comprehensive examination of these issues and an analysis of international norms, the article highlights the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to protect the cultural rights and heritage of displaced populations. Addressing these challenges requires concerted efforts at the international, national, and community levels to ensure the cultural survival and continuity of the displaced Hadrut Armenians. The research underscores that protecting cultural rights is crucial for maintaining collective identity, continuity, and the overall well-being of displaced communities.