Page 9 - CoESPU Magazine 2017-3

Private Law) Convention, the 1998 International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute and the 1999
Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954.
Nevertheless, the recent armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries such as
Yemen, Mali, and Nigeria, have
brought the destruction and
looting of cultural heritage in
their wake.
Archaeological sites at Palmyra
in Syria and Nimrud in Iraq are
currently among the most visible
heritage sites being destroyed in
regions at war, but the willful
destruction of cultural heritage or
artifacts is by no means a new
feature of warfare.
Reacting to the situation in Iraq,
in 2003 the United Nations (UN)
Security Council adopted
Resolution 1483, which includes
a ban on trafficking in cultural
objects illegally removed from
Iraq since its invasion of Kuwait,
and a call to facilitate their
return. On 12 February 2015, the
UN Security Council
unanimously adopted the
Resolution 2199, condemning
the deliberate destruction of
cultural heritage by terrorists in
Iraq and Syria, and the looting
and smuggling of heritage
artefacts to finance terrorist
activities.
In the same vein, in March 2015 UNESCO initiated the “#Unite4Heritage” worldwide social media
campaign to protect endangered cultural heritage, aiming to encourage participants to contribute
financially or to volunteer for cultural heritage protection projects.
At a roundtable debate in June 2015, UNESCO supported the Italian Government’s suggestion to
task “blue helmets” peacekeeping forces with heritage protection missions. On 16 February 2016 it
was signed an agreement with the Italian Government, establishing an high level team represented
by cultural heritage experts, archaeologists, art detectives, historians, restorers, and an Italian police
task force composed by Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, who have
been recognized at the international level for their high level of expertise in this specific field.
In particular the specialized Carabinieri task force was tasked to contribute in putting in place police
support to secure cultural heritage and counter illegal trafficking.

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