Heritage in danger

Le heritage cultural has always been affected by natural disasters (earthquakes, cataclysms, floods, hurricanes, etc.) The impact of climate change, caused by population growth, urbanization, deforestation and rising living standards, has now been added. The Ministry of Culture and Communication thus develops awareness-raising and prevention actions for professionals, elected officials and local populations.

Traditional wars have regressed since the end of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia in 1998, but civil wars are developing, under the guise of religious motivations carried by a nihilistic ideology whose heritage becomes the priority target: systematic destruction or illicit marketing of cultural property. For several years, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Syria. Yemen has suffered crimes against cultural heritage.

To protect cultural property in the event of armed conflict, Member States of theUN have essentially normative tools (conventions, resolutions, charters - Legislation and Regulation section ) but may appear to be powerless to act in a concrete way, hence the involvement of the Director-General of UNESCO in denouncing the acts committed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq in particular. It is up to the international community and each State to strengthen the levels of sanctions to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property.

Le Security Council of the UN adopted on 21 February 2015 the Resolution 2199, with a heritage component inserted at the request of France (paragraphs 15 to 17), of binding scope (Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations). It condemns the destruction of Iraqi and Syrian cultural heritage, denounces the looting and smuggling of objects and Decides that all Member States must take appropriate measures to prevent trade in cultural goods ».

Equities implemented by theUNESCO implements actions to combat the illicit trafficking in cultural property: As part of its missions, UNESCO places culture and heritage at the centre of peace-building and humanitarian emergency operations, for example through the agreement signed with the International Committee of the Cross-Red to integrate culture into humanitarian operations; the agreement with Italy to establish a working group on Unite4Heritage, bringing together military and cultural experts; and the broad coalition formed with ICOMOS, ICCROM, the World Customs Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to support states, strengthen legislation, introduce new laws and support institutions. France, together with its Iraqi counterparts, was at the initiative of the first resolution on the protection of Iraqi heritage adopted by UNESCO’s Executive Board in autumn 2014.

At European level, the 47 ministers in charge of heritage at the Council of Europe, gathered in Namur during the 6^e Conference of Ministers for Cultural Heritage (22-24 April 2015) launched a Namur Call. (read more...)

Mobilization of thea France, to the highest level of the State, to act against the massive looting of archaeological sites and fight against the illicit trafficking of Syrian and Iraqi cultural property. (read more...)

Cooperation and training activities of the Directorate-General for Heritage. Since 1991, the Directorate-General for Assets conducts cooperation activities in relation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCO. (read more...)

On 15 February 2019, the Directorate-General for Heritage -Department for European and International Affairs organised a presentation meeting on the call for proposals and the emergency procedure of theInternational Association for the Protection of Heritage (ALIPH) in conflict zones.

Today theALIPH is operational and installed in Geneva. In the fall of 2018, Valery Freland was appointed Managing Director, the fund was endowed with $70 million. A foundation council chaired by Thomas Kaplan, composed of the main donors, countries and personalities, and a scientific council chaired by Jean-Luc Martinez, president and director of the Louvre, are involved in the governance of the ALIPH.Bariza Khiari, former senator of Paris, President of the Institute of Islamic Cultures (ICI), represents France on the Alliance Council

Examples of projects in progress (rehabilitation of the Mosul Museum and the Mar Behnam Monastery in Iraq and the tomb of the Askias in Gao in Mali ) and testimonies of operators on the challenges of intervention in conflict zones were presented and submitted to the community of professionals and scientists present ( 110 personalities representing notably UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, ICOM, the architects of emergency, the Ouvre d'Orient, INP, INRAP, the Louvre, the Quai Branly Museum, the Louvre Lens, the National Order of Architects, Grimal Chairman of the Commission for Archaeological Excavations, IFLA, the Archivists without Borders, the National Archaeological Museum, the Companions of Duty, the major sites of France, the World Monument Fund, the Kurdish Institute, Europe Nostra,  ambassadors to UNESCO (France, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates), ambassadors from Switzerland, Luxembourg, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait Morocco and many scientific personalities