•  united n ations
• Thursday, May 24, 2012
• Inter Press Service

Addressing a briefing on the threat of World Heritage sites in Syria and Mali, Irina Bokova, Director-General of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said it is an international obligation for countries to protect historical sites. Under the 1954 ‘Convention for the Protection of Cultural Properties in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocols’, armies must refrain from using or damaging cultural heritage properties in times of war.

Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO’s Assistant Director General of Culture expressed concerns over the preservation of historical sites in times of unrest and the need for public awareness. The specific World Heritage sites being referenced in Mali are the city of Timbuktu, the three mosques within the city: Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, over 30,000 ancient manuscripts that are valuable to Islamic history and 16 mausoleums located in Northern Mali.

Bandarin said Mali is in a liberation war, 'so it is very chaotic'. Three major cities in Northern Mali: Timbuktu, Goa and Kidal have been reportedly taken over by the rebel group, Azawad. Since the rebel groups’ inhabitancy in Northern Mali, UNESCO has been notified of an unidentified number of manuscripts being destroyed. In Syria, the World Heritage sites of main concern include Damascus, Aleppo, Crac des Chevaliers, Qal'at Salah, El-Din and Palmyra. UNESCO has limited information on what is happening with Syrian historical artefacts because they have not had direct government contact and the current state of Syria is too dangerous for UNESCO representatives to go in and verify damage.

One area of concern is Palmyra’s fortress, because it is being used by armed forces. Another point of concern is urbanization in Syria around World Heritage sites. This has not happened in Syria yet, but there is a concern that the current direction of the state will put ancient artefacts in jeopardy for rapid expansion.

Both of these countries have separate issues that are creating concern by UNESCO and both are vulnerable to looters because of their weak state. Bandarin, said looting precious metals and artefacts is big business, and UNESCO has estimated that it is about a 6 billion dollar global business.

According to UNESCO, the 1970 Convention against the trafficking of cultural objects, has been ratified by 120 countries and is only applicable to cultural objects stolen or illicitly exported from one State Party to another State Party after the date of entry into force of the Convention for both States concerned.

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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