Sultan Ali Dinar Palace, before the recent damage. © Nour/BSI
The Blue Shield has been monitoring the conflict in Sudan since 2023 and wishes to express first and foremost its concern and solidarity with the communities affected by the recent events, as well as to underline the importance of preserving human life and dignity.
Within its mandate, the Blue Shield also expresses its serious concern following recent reports of damage to heritage sites in Sudan, including the Sultan Ali Dinar Palace in El-Fasher, and the broader risks to museums, archives, sacred spaces, and archaeological sites. Cultural heritage is a shared legacy of humanity and must be safeguarded during armed conflict under international law.
As an independent, impartial, and neutral organisation, the Blue Shield affirms that damage to any community’s heritage is damage to the heritage of all humankind. Heritage gives individuals and communities a sense of place, belonging, identity, and dignity and should serve as a foundation for peace and reconciliation, not as a target or weapon in war.
The Blue Shield urges all parties in this, and all conflicts, to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and other relevant legal instruments, including human rights law and UN Security Council resolutions, to protect not only people in conflict but also their heritage. We stress in particular the responsibilities of all parties under the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999.
The Blue Shield stands ready to cooperate with partners to safeguard cultural heritage in Sudan and to provide assistance where possible. Embracing cultural diversity strengthens our shared humanity and underscores that what unites us is far greater than what divides us.
Peter Stone
President, The Blue Shield
21 November 2025
For more information, please contact: blueshield.president@theblueshield.org
The Blue Shield is an international advisory body to UNESCO on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. It has 34 national committees (with more under construction) across the world and an international board composed of elected members and representatives of (the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Council on Archives (ICA), and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the major international organisations responsible for cultural heritage. The Blue Shield is “committed to the protection of the world’s cultural property, and is concerned with the protection of cultural and natural heritage, tangible and intangible, in the event of armed conflict, natural- or human-made disaster”.
