This article retraces the origin and development throughout history of the main rules of international law adopted to safeguard cultural property in the event of armed conflict, and shows their place in the context of international humanitarian law.

In this article the author sets out the precautionary measures adopted in Switzerland, in accordance with its treaty obligations to protect cultural property in the event of armed conflict. By giving the technical details of ensuring optimum protection for cultural property, the article may serve as a practical example of what is required in that regard of States party to the 1954 Hague Convention and its Protocols

The entry into force of the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention is the most recent step forward in the legal protection of cultural property during armed conflict. This article explains the background to the adoption of the Protocol and gives a detailed analysis of the significance of the new rules introduced by this instrument.

Although often used interchangeably, the concepts of cultural property and cultural heritage, according to the author of this article, are not identical in substance. The matter is not one of mere terminology but has legal ramifications due to the clash of different legal systems from which the respective concepts originate. This article shows some of the compatibility problems encountered when using them in international practice concerning the protection of cultural property.

This article examines the legal questions concerning interpretation of the 1954 Hague Convention’s Article 17 on the distinctive emblem. It does so by giving a general analysis of the marking of cultural property and then by considering the query by Bosnia-Herzegovina as to whether it is appropriate to mark destroyed cultural sites with that emblem.

The years of domination by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia have left the country and its memory, but also its cultural heritage, permanently scarred. This article shows with reference to an actual situation what the effects of armed conflict on a country’s cultural property can be, while at the same time demonstrating how the legal instruments devised to protect it can be applied and play a crucial role in the preservation of cultural heritage.

In January 2002, UNESCO was mandated by the interim Afghan government to coordinate international activities to restore and preserve its cultural heritage, which had suffered from several decades of war. This article describes those activities and UNESCO's role, citing specific examples such as the Bamiyan Valley, Jam, Herat and Kabul. It also gives a summary of international cooperation and funding for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan's cultural heritage.

Declaration adopted by the thirty-second session of the UNESCO General Conference, Paris, 17 October 2003.

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