Conference Reports, Papers & Abstracts
Position papers will be posted to this site the week of January 23, 2006.
Abstracts
Panelist
Colonel Matthew Bogdanos
U.S. Marine Corps;
Leader of the interagency investigation into Iraqi antiquities looting during Operation Iraqi Freedom
Abstract
Ultimately, we must develop a comprehensive global strategy that joins all the elements of international power to combat the illicit antiquities trade in several meaningful and complementary ways. First, the strategy must include an aggressive but measured campaign to increase public awareness of the importance of cultural property, improve recognition of the magnitude of the current crisis, and create a climate of universal condemnation of trafficking in unprovenanced antiquities.
Second, there must be a greater level of cooperation not only between different law-enforcement agencies, but also between law-enforcement on the one hand and the art and archaeological communities on the other. The latter are needed to act as law enforcement's eyes and ears, as on-call experts for authenticating and identifying intercepted shipments, and for providing crucial in-court expert testimony. The art and archaeological communities should also request the appropriate law-enforcement personnel (depending on country and focus) to provide detailed, factual briefings at every single conference in the future that purports to address art or antiquities smuggling. The call for up-to-date investigative facts should become as standard as the call for papers.
Finally, every country and international organization should be pressured to increase its funding for specialized and expanded art and antiquities task forces. Interpol's member nations should fund a robust staff dedicated to Iraqi antiquities, and private foundations desirous of helping should fund resources such as vehicles, computers, communications assets, and quarterly international conferences, seminars, and training for such specialized squads.
Full Text (PDF)
Patrick Boylan
Professor Emeritus of Heritage Policy and Management,
Department of Cultural Policy and Management, City University, London
Abstract
Implementing the 1954 Hague Convention and its 1954 and 1999 Protocols: Legal and Practical Implications. The presentation will outline the main diplomatic and legislative measures that are likely to be required in order to ratify or accede to all or some of 1954 Hague Convention measures on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Among them are legislation that would be required to implement the general criminal provisions of the original 1954 Convention, and action against the specific war crimes defined in the 1999 Second Protocol, including measures subject to universal jurisdiction and extradition. States party to the First Protocol of 1954 will also need legislative support for measures relating to movement and transfers of ownership of cultural property located within war zones or occupied territories.
States party to Hague 1954-1999 also undertake to implement a wide range of practical measures in relation to their own territories (such as identifying and marking important cultural property, and making provision for additional wartime protection measures or evacuation), and in relation the conduct of their own armed forces in relation to the respect of cultural property whether at home or abroad (such as the adoption and enforcement of appropriate military regulations, and the provision of adequate training).
Full Text (PDF)
Panelist
Guido Carducci
Chief of the International Standards Unit, Cultural Heritage Division, UNESCO
Abstract
Did the Hague Convention "Fail"?
International Assessments on the Need for New International
Laws; International Legal Responses and Future Outlook.
This presentation will address several critical questions including: whether the Hague Convention "failed" to protect cultural property in Iraq; whether there is a need for new International Law; legal measures that have been taken by the international community in response to recent events; and conclusions and plans to be drawn in the event of future armed conflict.
The alleged failure of the 1954 Hague Convention, which has resounded throughout the international press since the events of 2003, demands an assessment of the 1954 Hague Convention by the international legal community; and potentially calls for new and enforceable laws to protect cultural heritage. Yet do we actually need "more" or "new" international law? This issue must be approached from the perspective of both Humanitarian Law (the Law of Armed Conflict) and the Restitution of Cultural Property Law (property that was illicitly removed during the conflict).
Finally, this presentation will also discuss the administrative and legal measures that have been taken by the international community to protect Iraqi cultural property from further loss, despite the inherent difficulties of enforcement. It will conclude with the lessons learned and plans for the international community to avoid similar cultural tragedies in the future.
Panelist
Patty Gerstenblith
Professor of Law, DePaul University
Abstract
The 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was written in response to the large-scale intentional destruction and damage to cultural property perpetrated by Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the Balkan Wars, the Convention was updated in its Second Protocol of 1999. Despite this updating, the 2003 war and subsequent occupation of Iraq have demonstrated additional shortcomings of the Convention and its Protocols.
Among these shortcomings is the failure of the Convention and its Protocols to impose an explicit obligation to preserve cultural sites, monuments and repositories 1) during active hostilities to the extent feasible, and 2) during occupation, not only from the acts of its own military but also from acts of the local population. The Convention should also require occupying powers to facilitate assessment of the damage done to cultural sites and monuments at the conclusion of hostilities.
Perhaps most significant, the Conventions fails to incorporate commonly accepted principles of cultural resource management. Such principles include assessment of damage that may be caused to cultural resources through construction and other infrastructure project, and a requirement to mitigate such damage, either through project relocation or survey and salvage work. These principles are routinely incorporated as part of federal construction projects within the United States, including military construction, and apply to U.S. undertakings in other countries under certain circumstances through the National Historic Preservation Act. Similar principles are also part of UNESCO's Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of Cultural Property Endangered by Public or Private Works .
Full Text (PDF)
Panelist
McGuire Gibson
Professor of Archaeology, The Oriental Institute;
President, The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq
Abstract
This presentation will give a general overview of international antiquities situation that conditioned the 2003 looting of the Iraq Museum , and the actions taken by international archaeologists and other professionals involved in research in and on Iraq prior to, during, and after the invasion of 2003, specifically related to cultural heritage. Service on a UNESCO fact-finding mission and a National Geographic Society team in May 2003 serves as the basis for the talk. The Iraq National Museum , the Mosul Museum , and other well-known archaeological sites will be featured.
Panelist
Jan Hladik
Programme Specialist, International Standards Section, Division of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO
Abstract
The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its 1999 Second Protocol – Comparison between Provisions Related to Safeguarding of and Respect for Cultural Property under General Protection.
The presentation will focus on the comparisons between and contributions of provisions related to safeguarding of and respect for generally protected cultural property under the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol. It is divided into three parts. The first part introduces very briefly the main tenets of the Hague Convention such as its scope, peacetime preventive measures, obligations of the Occupying Power with regard to cultural property in occupied territory, and sanctions for breaches of the Convention, as well as the primary obligations under the 1954 Protocol. The second part deals in detail with obligations regarding safeguarding of and respect for cultural property with particular emphasis on the notion of military necessity both under the Hague Convention and its Second Protocol. It also compares the provisions on precautions in attack, and precautions against the effects of hostilities contained in the Second Protocol with the corresponding provisions of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 four Geneva Conventions. Finally, the third part analyses the contribution of provisions on safeguarding of and respect for cultural property in both agreements to better protect such property.
Full Text (PDF)
Additional Background
The UNESCO 1995-2004 Periodic Activity Report on the Implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Two 1854 and 1999 Protocols."