Last week, Blue Shield had the great pleasure of attending the UNESCO / Kingdom of the Netherlands International Conference “Cultural Heritage and Peace: Building on 70 years of The Hague Convention”, from 13-15 May 2024, at the Peace Palace and the World Forum in the Netherlands.
The Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was signed in the Hague in 1954. It is the most important piece of international legislation protecting cultural property in armed conflict and is ratified today by over 130 countries. It was accompanied by its First Protocol in 1954, now ratified by over 110 countries, and a Second Protocol in 1999, ratified by over 80 countries.
When the Committee of Experts met to draft the 1954 Hague Convention, the Director-General of UNESCO, Luther Evans stated in his opening speech on July 21, 1953:
It is our object today, Gentlemen, to lay the foundations of what I may call the Red Cross of cultural property, and have it accepted by all States and by public opinion.
That organisation was eventually founded in 1996, in the form of the Blue Shield. Today, like the Red Cross, it is an independent, impartial, and neutral movement of national committees around the world, together with an international Board and Secretariat, advocating for the implementation of international humanitarian law, particularly the 1954 Hague Convention, and the protection of cultural property and those who work to such protect it, and responding in crisis and disaster. In that context, Blue Shield was honoured to attend the high level conference, attended by experts from around the world.
Letter of Intent with UNESCO
Blue Shield was honoured to sign a Letter of Intent with UNESCO on the eve of the anniversary of the Convention in the Peace Palace where the Convention was first signed.
A global network
The Blue Shield was excited to demonstrate the strength of its network at the event, with representation from 10 national committees, as well as our Board. It was a real pleasure to have members from Blue Shield National Committees in Lebanon, Croatia, Netherlands, Germany, UK, USA, France, Austria, Guatemala, Curacao & our IFLA Board representative. Global cooperation for heritage protection!
High-level advocacy
President Stone was an invited speaker in Plenary session III Panel 1: Shaping a peaceful future: Collaborations in preservation of cultural heritage in emergencies.
His message was clear:
The Hague Convention is a peacetime Convention - we must prepare in peace or we will be unable to respond effectively in conflict. Blue Shield has established civil-military networks worldwide with heritage professionals and armed forces - as well as the humanitarian sector. We must work together, avoiding duplication, and share efforts to protect heritage in crisis together!
As the event came to a close, and the 1954 Hague Convention turns 70, the message of the conference was overwhelmingly clear, with words just as true at 70 as the day they were written:
"Protection cannot be effective unless both national and international measures have been taken to organize it in time of peace".
Partnership awareness-raising
It was a privilege to finish the anniversary by co-hosting a Panel with our partners Cultural Emergency Rescue and Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, ‘Documenting the Destruction of Heritage & Seeking Solutions’. The event was excellently moderated by Bijan Rouhani, Chair of the CER Board. Vasyl Rozhko highlighted his crucial work with the НеМо: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, which is focused on documenting and mapping cultural heritage destruction in Ukraine, in the framework of the Convention in practice; Dr Marina Lostal spoke about the Convention’s history and future; and our Secretariat, Dr Emma Cunliffe, spoke about how national committees advocate for community involvement. Together panellists highlighted the Convention’s ongoing applications around the world and underscored the urgent need for proactive measures and strategic planning in heritage protection.
The 1954 Hague Convention protects cultural property of great importance to people - to the communities that make up a state. It is a state responsibility to register them, but it should be up to the communities to decide what they value. That's where Blue Shield National Committees can play a critical role, in advocating for heritage that may not otherwise be considered and ensure that people are at the heard of heritage protection.
