Cultural Property Protection in the 21st Century: Meeting Requirements across the Forces

Seven decades after the adoption of the Hague Convention, the protection of cultural property in armed conflict remains a major challenge for military forces.
Cultural property can be destroyed or looted during combat, and its military use increases the risk of its destruction. Another difficulty is the timely identification and documentation of such property. In acute conflict situations, cultural property often needs to be evacuated and moved to safe locations, which is a logistical challenge. In addition, there is often a lack of awareness and training among the armed forces, making protection more difficult.

To address this issue, distinguished civilian and military experts gathered to discuss the implementation of cultural property protection within the armed forces through presentations and discussions. International military personnel provided insights into their cultural property protection activities, while experts from organisations such as UNESCO, Blue Shield International, the OSCE, the European External Action Service, INTERPOL and NATO highlighted current developments and challenges within their institutions. Topics such as the destruction of cultural property in Lebanon and peace-building were also on the agenda for the international audience. A panel discussion explored the military potential of artificial intelligence and new technologies for the protection of cultural property.

The central message of the conference was the outstanding importance of cultural property protection to military missions and peace processes. It was emphasised that the protection of cultural property is not only a moral and legal imperative, but also strategically crucial to the success of military operations and to stability in conflict areas. Ultimately, effective protection of cultural property requires coordinated international cooperation between different countries and organisations.