Supported by a grant from the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport International Cultural Heritage Protection Team, Blue Shield International and the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) have spent the past year co-delivering a project to strengthen the capacity of Ukrainian prosecutors to investigate and prosecute crimes against cultural heritage, specifically focussing on Crimes Against Humanity, a new area of law for Ukraine.
This work has been in support of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) at a national level, however the primary focus has been with the Regional Prosecutors Office. The Donetsk Oblast is one of the worst affected areas in terms of damage to culture: cultural sites and religious buildings have been attacked or deliberately altered, museums have been looted, and fundamental cultural changes have been made to deny Ukrainian identity.
Project staff have worked to mentor key skills in investigations and legal cases to address crimes against culture and heritage as a core aspect of cultural identity in the region.
On 20 April 2026, BSI and CIJA met with a delegation of senior war crimes prosecutors from the OPG in Kyiv and Donetsk Oblast, as well as representatives of DCMS, UK law enforcement, the Ministry of Education, the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (effectively the UK Ministry of the Interior), and UK Armed Forces.
The meeting in London represented the culmination of the first year of the project, which will be followed by work in an additional oblast, and additional support to the OPG, with thanks to DCMS for the continuing support.
The implementation of international law is crucial to the protection of cultural heritage in conflict. As a neutral, independent and impartial organisation, BSI is committed to the protection of the heritage of all humankind. The Blue Shield endeavours to do this by promoting and strengthening the rule of law, in accordance with universal humanitarian principles.
