Destruction of heritage ‘a war crime’
Print Edition
THE creation of a US$100 million fund to protect and restore heritage sites threatened by extremism and conflict was on the agenda when representatives from dozens of countries met in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Their two-day conference reflects growing alarm over the destruction of ancient artefacts by Islamic State group jihadists using sledgehammers, bulldozers and explosives.
It opened with calls by its Emirati, French and UN initiators for joint action to safeguard cultural treasures in danger.
“To succeed, we need to work together ... united for heritage,” UNESCO director Irina Bokova told participants.
Protecting heritage “is inseparable from protecting human life,” she said, describing its deliberate destruction as “a war crime.”
The chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Mohamed al-Mubarak, expressed optimism that the international initiative would “help change the course of history.”
On the eve of the meeting, five Nobel prize winners launched an appeal for urgent action to safeguard world heritage sites, pointing to the irreparable damage wreaked in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Mali.
“Part of our history has been lost forever, with the goal of fanaticism being to undermine our hope for the future,” said a statement from Aung San Suu Kyi, Kofi Annan, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Orhan Pamuk and Mario Vargas Llosa.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says 55 out of a total of 1,052 heritage sites around the world are listed as “World Heritage in Danger.”
They include the Crac des Chevaliers castle and the ruins of Palmyra in Syria, the archeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan, the Old City of Sanaa in Yemen, and Timbuktu in Mali.
The conference aims to create “a broad coalition of partners connecting the dots between the security, humanitarian and cultural issues with so many organizations and governments” taking part, said Bokova.
Delegates from around 40 countries, including more than a dozen heads of state or government, among them several Gulf monarchs, are attending the gathering, based on an initiative led by France and the United Arab Emirates.
Jack Lang, the former French culture minister who heads the Paris-based Institut du Monde Arabe, said the conference “will launch concrete action” such as the creation of a fund to help cover the cost of transporting, safeguarding and restoring affected monuments — including using 3D reconstruction. France will contribute US$30 million to the fund, Lang has said.
The conference also aims to establish “refuge zones” around the globe for endangered works of art, according to organizers.
The proposed partnership would include governments, public institutions, private groups, non-governmental organizations and experts.
“UNESCO will play a critical role to guide and to advise and to monitor where exactly the needs are the most,” Bokova told reporters, adding that the conference was a “good start.”
A French official described the initiative as the “cultural counterpart” of the international military and political war on terrorism.
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