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![]() The distinctive marking of cultural property under the Hague Convention (Blue Shield). | |
Signed | 14 May 1954 |
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Location | The Hague |
Effective | 7 August 1956 |
Signatories | unesdoc.unesco.org/.. |
Parties | 133[1] |
Depositary | Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization[1] |
Languages | English, French, Russian and Spanish[1] |
Disclaimer: The distinctive emblem is a protective symbol used during armed conflicts and its use is restricted by international law |
The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is the first international treaty that focuses exclusively on the protection of cultural property in armed conflict. It was signed at The Hague, Netherlands, on 14 May 1954 and entered into force on 7 August 1956. As of July 2021[update], it has been ratified by 133 states.[2]
The provisions of the 1954 Convention were supplemented and clarified by two protocols concluded in 1954 and 1999. All three agreements are part of International Humanitarian Law, which, in the form of further agreements, primarily includes provisions defining the permissible means and methods of warfare and aiming at the widest possible protection of persons not involved in the fighting. In contrast to these parts of International Humanitarian Law, the agreements on the protection of cultural property were drawn up under the auspices of the United Nations (UN); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is primarily responsible for the dissemination and monitoring of compliance. In addition to rules designed to ensure the protection and respect of cultural property during an armed conflict, these agreements also provide for security measures to be implemented in times of peace.
Blue Shield International, based in The Hague, is active in the field of international coordination with regard to military and civil structures for the protection of cultural assets.
The guiding principles of the Convention and the motivation for its conclusion, dissemination and respect are summarised in the preamble, which states, among other things:
... that any damage to cultural property, irrespective of the people it belongs to, is a damage to the cultural heritage of all humanity, because every people contributes to the world's culture ...[3]
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