Cultural Heritage Protection in Peace Operations: Security Challenges and Criminal Threats (UNCOPS V 2026 Side Event)
The destruction and looting of cultural heritage during armed conflict is a practice dating back millennia. It has often been used by warring parties to erase the identity, history, and collective memory of their adversaries. From antiquity through the colonial era to contemporary conflicts, the deliberate destruction of cultural sites, monuments, and works of art has been employed as a tactic of warfare, often described as "ethno-cultural cleansing.
Description
Recognizing that the damage, looting, trafficking, and destruction of humanity's cultural heritage in crises constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security, this side event aims to:
Examine the links between armed conflict, peacekeeping operations, and
the protection of cultural heritage.
Discuss strategies to better integrate cultural heritage protection as a key
component of peacekeeping operations and related mandates.
Explore practical approaches to safeguarding cultural sites and improving
the traceability of cultural objects in peacekeeping contexts.
Share best practices and national experiences in cultural heritage
protection, in particular the Italian experience.
Highlight the importance of international law enforcement cooperation,
particularly the use of INTERPOL's tools and capabilities, in preventing and
investigating crimes affecting cultural heritage.
The destruction of cultural heritage in conflicts is a millennia-old practice, often
used by warring parties to erase the identity of their enemy, along with their
history and collective memory. From antiquity to modern colonial and
contemporary wars, the destruction of sites, monuments, and works of art has
been a deliberate tactic of warfare, often described as "ethno-cultural
cleansing." There have been many examples of these destructive activities in
recent history.
Italy plays an important role internationally in the protection of cultural heritage, reflecting its exceptional cultural and historical legacy.
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