50th Anniversary of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

Today it has 109 States Parties. Under this Convention, Parties must refrain from any act of hostility directed against cultural property and abstain from using this property for military purposes. The instrument furthermore provides for the marking of cultural property with a new distinctive emblem and proposes a system for placing particularly important objects under special protection. In 1977, with the adoption of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of Geneva, and then in 1999, with the adoption of a Second Protocol to the 1954 Convention, the international community further strengthened this protection. This last Protocol came into effect on 9 March 2004.

During armed conflict, the protection of civilian populations and persons not taking part in the hostilities remains the priority of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Nonetheless, the protection of civilian property - and hence cultural property - is an important concern. To mark this anniversary, the ICRC urges all States who have not yet done so to ratify the Hague Convention and all other instruments protecting cultural property in the event of armed conflict. It is essential to strive for universality of these instruments, if the cultural heritage of mankind is to be preserved.

Once ratified, these texts must be implemented at the national level. This involves, for instance, drawing up inventories, providing for identification of cultural property and setting up educational and training programmes. The ICRC’s Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law can furnish States with specialist literature and advice on this as on other matters.