Application of International Humanitarian Law in protection of Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict

Abstract

During times of war, cultural heritage has always been jeopardised. UNESCO attempted to address the issue for the first time shortly after World War II, in 1954, when it passed the first of three signature conventions to protect cultural property from damage, destruction, and pillage during times of armed conflict. However, gaps and other flaws in their frameworks made these conventions difficult to enforce and, as a result, largely ineffective. The purpose of this study is to assess the strengths and limitations of the UNESCO system of cultural-heritage protection, with a particular emphasis on the 1954 Hague Convention. It is argued that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) were especially influential in shaping more effective legal frameworks for protecting cultural heritage, as evidenced by subsequent measures taken by UNESCO, the ICC, and the Security Council. The question of whether and to what extent the imperative to safeguard cultural heritage has achieved widespread normative status is also addressed. The study concludes with a brief assessment of recent cultural crimes around the world, followed by a discussion of potential new frameworks for protecting cultural heritage that seek to improve on the limitations of existing systems while also responding to the unique risks that currently threaten culture in conflict zones.