On November 3rd, the Georgian National Committee of the Blue Shield (GNCBS) launched the report Implementation of International Humanitarian Law for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of the Occupied Tskhinvali Region, together with an online database of the immovable cultural heritage sites of the Tskhinvali region. The launch was held at the Ilia Chavchavadze Literary-Memorial Museum in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The team analyzed over 700 sites and examined national and international actions to protect the region’s heritage. Using multi-source analysis that included eyewitness reports, interviews, media, social media, published NGO and IO reports, and satellite imagery assessment via Google Earth and published reports by UNOSAT-UNITAR, the condition of the hundreds of sites was assessed over a 20-year period, including the conflict in the region in 2008. The analysis was conducted using the framework of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, signed by all parties during the fighting in Georgia in 2008. Causes and extent of damage were identified, along with future threats.
The report concluded with recommendations for better protection of heritage in Tskhinvali region, and for better implementation of international humanitarian law.
The map and the website are still a work in progress, as the data is being verified, checked, and translated.
The report and the online database with a map-based visualization platform are the results of a joint project by the members of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Property Protection and Peace, Newcastle University (UK), Blue Shield Georgia, and its local partner, Didi Liakhvi Valley Museum-Reserve implemented during 2018-2022. The project was funded by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Fund (reference ES/M500513/1) through Newcastle University.
In this talk in 2021, the team presented their preliminary findings at the international conference: “Protection of Cultural Heritage Across Occupied Territories of Georgia: International Practices and Regional Application”.
The map and the website are still a work in progress, as the data is being verified, checked, and translated.
Visit the Facebook of Blue Shield Georgia and see the work of the committee
Learn more about the work of our national committees
Visit the website of Newcastle University and the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Property Protection and Peace
