Chapter

Protecting cultural heritage : war crimes and crimes against humanity during conflicts and revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East

Edward Phillips

The Arab spring : new patterns for democracy and international law

Leiden ; Boston : M. Nijhoff, 2013

p. 225-236

English

This article highlights the important role played by cultural property in nation building, and the author discusses the failings of the international legal regime put in place to protect such property during times of conflict. Cultural properties - which include, inter alia, architecture, works of art, libraries, museums and archives - are essential emblems of identity and nationhood, embraced equally by different populations within a country. Because of its importance, cultural property is frequently intentionally targeted during times of war, as has been evident in various conflicts in recent years. According to Phillips, the totality of recent experience has raised serious questions about the international legal regime put in place to protect cultural properties. The duty to protect cultural property has been part of customary international law for centuries, and was explicitly codified in a number of treaties following World War Two. However, it has proven difficult for the international community to enforce these commitments. An especially egregious failure can be seen in the destructive way in which the United States treated cultural property during the Iraq War, actions which were met with little denunciation and no international sanctions. [Summary by students at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (IHRP)]

• The Arab spring : new patterns for democracy and international law / ed. by Carlo Panara and Gary Wilson