Protection of Cultural Property during armed conflict and peace support operations
Patrizia La Piscopia
Supervisor: Dr Alan Peatfield
Funded by:
John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies
Abstract
This research project takes as its starting point the opening statement of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict affirming that ‘damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind’. It is inspired by the notion of the significant role that heritage can play in supporting peace building efforts and will engage directly with the interface between heritage, identity and ethnicity in the global context of conflict and conflict resolution.
Pre-Soviet invasion, Afghan postal stamp showing one of the Bamiyan Buddhas
Recently NATO has been involved in several conflicts which have had severe cultural heritage, as well as humanitarian, implications. As soon as conflicts end, and the situation stabilises, UN forces step in to secure peace and stability, during this phase they take over some responsibility for heritage protection but the process is often complex and sometimes ineffective. That is why this project will give particular attention to the dialogue and cooperation between heritage professionals and armed forces of different nations.
Aims: First, this project will research the historic background to the evolution of the cultural heritage concept and the series of events and debates that gradually led to the elaboration of a specific set of legal tools to assure its protection during armed conflicts. Secondly, it will also investigate the varying approaches to, and differential outcomes of, cultural heritage protection activities through the examination of case studies of recent controversial situations, mainly focusing on the ongoing conflict afflicting Afghanistan. Finally, a review of the role of civil military advisors and militarised experts will be carried on.
The Plaque outside the National Museum of Afghanistan
The project will also develop a critical, reflexive model of how international heritage protection frameworks have functioned in the past and currently work. Of key relevance here is the development of a critique of these frameworks to improve the protection of cultural heritage in arenas of potential future international conflict. In particular, new, critically aware, guidelines for future legislation and field-based methodologies for heritage protection will be proposed, in light of the main case study.