Preserving the World's Historical and Cultural Legacy

▪ 1995

      The continuing destruction of the architectural, artistic, and historical patrimony of the multicultural society in Bosnia and Herzegovina continued to shock and appall the world in 1994. While some of the damage to historic sites, religious structures, libraries, and archives might be classified as incidental to the general warfare, many significant cultural icons were deliberately targeted for destruction as part of "ethnic cleansing." All sides suffered, but Bosnian Muslim cultural objects were especially hard hit.

      Such acts during hostilities are forbidden by an international treaty, the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, signed at The Hague in 1954 following disastrous losses of art and architectural treasures in Europe during World War II. The Convention was administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Eighty-five nations were members, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Yugoslavia. The treaty states that an enduring cultural heritage is a basic human right worthy of international collaborative respect and maintenance. Thus, responsibility for safeguarding manifestations of material culture transcends any particular ethnic group or nation.

      Significant losses of cultural sites and monuments resulting from armed conflict during the past decade, the intentional nature of recent destruction in the Balkans, and the spectre of ethnic strife elsewhere in the world signaled the urgent need to strengthen international safeguards. Several major nations not yet party to the 1954 Hague Convention—including the United States and Canada—were considering ratification. UNESCO and the government of The Netherlands sponsored a series of meetings, one in 1993 and two in 1994, convening legal, military, and cultural resource-management experts to formulate recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of the convention to be presented for consideration by the signatories in 1995.

      Other initiatives in 1994 supported protection, preservation, and reconstruction of cultural property in accordance with international humanitarian norms. A symposium at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., entitled "Destruction and Rebuilding of Architectural Treasures in Bosnia and Herzegovina," considered cultural damage and losses in the context of the 1954 Hague Convention and examined the scope and process of an investigation under the aegis of the UN by experts preparatory to action by the international war crimes tribunal. During the summer of 1994, the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture in Istanbul organized a pilot workshop on the reconstruction of Mostar, the historic Herzegovinian capital, with broad international support from educational institutions and professional organizations.

      The International Council on Monuments and Sites, with national committees in 81 countries and headquarters in Paris, advocated improving preparation for protecting cultural heritage in the event of conflict or natural disaster. Approaches included identifying, inventorying, documenting, and marking cultural property worthy of protection and disseminating information about its worth among the military and civilian population. (ARLENE K. FLEMING)

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