The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noted in its report the vandalism committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenian heritage of Karabakh.

The report noted that in recent years, Azerbaijan has recorded some changes to improve conditions for freedom of religion: an end to law enforcement raids on religious communities and reportedly pardoning many religious activists.

However, freedom of religion in Azerbaijan continues to be severely constrained by problematic legislation, in particular the country's 2009 On Freedom of Religious Beliefs, and the government has shown little interest in revising it.

The report also details many of the obstacles posed by mandatory registration and other restrictions on religious communities, continued harassment of religious activists, and recent abuses in the context of renewed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"September 2020 saw the renewal of violent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno- Karabakh and surrounding territories. During the course of fighting in October, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of purposefully shelling the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in the city of Shusha. According to reports, the cathedral was hit twice by precision missile strikes that severely damaged the roof and interior of the building. In December, Human Rights Watch concluded that the attack was intentional, constituting a war crime that should be investigated and prosecuted. Azerbaijan claimed that Armenian forces also damaged religious sites as a result of recent shelling.

The announcement of a ceasefire in early November formalized the territorial gains Azerbaijan had made militarily, and it set a staggered timeline for the cession of additional territories to Azerbaijan—raising concerns about the protection of various churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other religious and cultural sites scattered throughout the region. President Aliyev reportedly gave assurances to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the country would protect Christian churches in these areas; however, some sites, such as a cemetery situated alongside an Armenian church in Hadrut, have already been vandalized. In late November, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization reiterated a call for the protection of heritage sites in the area, and it proposed dispatching a preliminary field mission to produce an inventory of such sites “as a prerequisite for effective protection of the region’s heritage," the report noted.

By the way, UNESCO has not yet received access to the territories occupied by Azerbaijan.