Marking of cultural property with the distinctive emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

30-06-2004 International Review of the Red Cross No 854, p. 379-388 by Jan Hladik

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.

Jan Hladik
is Programme Specialist, International Standards Section, Division of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO. The author is responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this article and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the organization in any way.

Abstract

This article examines legal issues related to the interpretation of Article 17 on use of the distinctive emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, following the query by Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999 as to whether it is appropriate to mark destroyed cultural sites with that emblem. The first part is a general introduction to the marking of cultural property with the distinctive emblem, while the second part analyses in detail the query by Bosnia and Herzegovina and in particular its consideration by two meetings of States party to the Convention held in 1999 and 2001.

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