PATRIZIA LA PISCOPIA

Protection of Cultural Property during armed conflict and peace support operations

Supervised by: Dr. Alan Peatfield, UCD School of Archaeology

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.

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 focussing on the ongoing conflict afflicting Afghanistan. Finally, a review of the role of civil military advisors and militarised experts will be carried on.

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.

Methodology
Semi-structured and open qualitative interviews will be carried out with a range of key. Heritage professionals that directly experienced cooperation with the military during conflict and in peacetime will provide essential information on the ways in which their knowledge and professional skills were employed during different phases (pre-, peri- and post-conflict) of operations. Officers in charge of peace-enforcement and peace-keeping operations will also be interviewed to understand how and if they directed strategic operations to reduce collateral damage to archaeological sites and cultural property in general. The Irish experience will be the starting point of a research that will than move towards a European and International Level.

Additional field work will include visits to accessible military training camps to explore the range of Cultural Training Programmes offered to the troupes and practical involvement with nongovernmental organisations to investigate how they are actively participating in conservation and heritage management. When possible, Irish camps will be visited alongside with the NATO CIMIC (Civil Military Cooperation) Group South, attention will also be given to the educational programme coordinated by the AIA (Archaeological Institute of America) that sent lecturers to U.S. bases to instruct troops about heritage protection. Where possible the applicant will also visit safely accessible heritage sites in the case study areas in order to assess the impact of conflict on cultural property which, under international legislation, is guaranteed protection. 

The National Museum of Afghanistan on the line of fire, 1996. © Jolyon Leslie/SPACH

The Plaque outside the National Museum of Afghanistan

One of the Buddhas in the Bamyan valley intentionally destroied by the Talibans. Afghanistan 2001. Curtesy CNN

Looters' holes at Qasr-e Zarafshan. David Thomas 2004

Blue Shield, universally recognised symbol granting protection to cultural property during armed conflicts. 1954 Hague convention