The Protection of World Cultural Heritage Threatened with Destruction»
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KINGDOM OF MOROCCO/PARLIAMENT ROYAUME DU MAROC/PARLEMENT المملكة المغربية/البرلمان International PAM Seminar dedicated to: « The Protection of World Cultural Heritage Threatened with Destruction» Hosted by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco Rabat, 14 -15 May 2015 Executive Report 1 Summary of proceedings On 14-15 May 2015, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco hosted the international seminar of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) on ‘The Protection of World Cultural Heritage Threatened with Destruction’ in Rabat, Morocco. The two day meeting, which was held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, was part of PAM’s response to the urgent call, by both the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council (Resolution S/RES/2199 (2015) para. 15, 16 and 17) to international organizations to mobilize their constituencies and capabilities to protect the Cultural Heritage from destruction, looting, smuggling, and illegal trade by criminal and terrorist organizations, especially in light of the latest episodes of destruction of historical sites and museums across Iraq, Libya and Syria. The seminar brought together PAM MPs, university professors, legal experts, members of diplomatic missions in Morocco, Representatives of the Executive Committee of UNESCO, as well as representatives from regional and international organisations. Key note speakers and experts, described the on-going situation and contributed to the event by presenting some of the most recent data. The “Rabat Declaration”, which provided for the creation of a working group on the protection of the world cultural heritage, was read. Over the course of two days, the following subjects were discussed in three panels dedicated to: 1. World heritage: a richness of culture and a human footprint 2. International conventions on the protection of the world cultural heritage 3. The role of national parliaments and inter-parliamentary organisations in protecting and restoring world cultural heritage. Opening Ceremony – 14th May 2015 H.E. Sen. Dr Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and President of the Moroccan House of Counsellors, opened the seminar. He thanked the parliament of Morocco for being actively engaged in numerous events, particularly in the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which took place in Hanoi, in Vietnam, between the 28 March and the 1 April, and during which a Resolution on ‘The Role of Parliaments in Combatting all Terrorist Acts Perpetuated by Organisations such as DAESH and Boko Haram against Innocent Civilians, in particular Women and Girls’ was unanimously adopted. In addition, he made references to the 1954 Convention of The Hague concerning the Protection of Cultural Heritage in case of armed conflict, and concluded that cultural heritage should be considered as a new measure of sustainable development. H.E. Eric Falt, Assistant Director General for External Relations and Public Information of UNESCO, referred to the key role played by Morocco in the field of Protection of Cultural Heritage. He mentioned that currently we face the continued large scale destruction of cultural 1 heritage and that on a daily basis communities are being destroyed and having their fundamental rights violated. He stated that the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage did not only affect culture, but also deprived individuals of their humanitarian and fundamental rights. He also referred to the ‘unitedforculture campaign’ that was started by UNESCO in Iraq and which had the support of several members of parliament. He also quoted the Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, who had expressed to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) the desire to protect the cultural heritage of the world with peace keeping forces. He concluded by asking all Mediterranean countries to ratify treaties related to the protection of cultural heritage and requested that governments, NGO’s and public authorities do everything in their power to defeat the threat of terrorism. H.E. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (ISESCO), began by mentioning the destruction of cultural sites and human rights violations that several regions in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa face on a daily basis. He further compared the ongoing events in Iraq and Syria with the Second World War, and recalled in particular the ongoing events in Kalkhu (Nimrud), Mosul and Aleppo. He then spoke of a war against the collective memory of the world and of a new phenomenon called ‘Cultural Terrorism’. Furthermore, he reminded everyone that the conservation of the cultural heritage of the world threatened with destruction should be an integral part of the priorities of the international community, and that action was needed to put an end to these armed conflicts. Finally, he made reference to the Committee for Cultural Heritage created by the ISESCO in Tripoli. FIRST PANEL WORLD HERITAGE: A RICHNESS OF CULTURE AND A HUMAN FOOTPRINT Chair: Hon. Bilal Kasem (Palestine), Vice-President of PAM’s 3rd Standing Committee Hon. Bilal Kasem, introduced the first panel by discussing terrorism, the war in Syria, and the situation in North Africa and the Middle East. He made reference to the destruction caused by the so called Islamic State (IS) as well as other criminal groups. In addition, he spoke of his visit to Syria as part of the PAM delegation and his meeting with the General Director of Antiquities and Museums. He then referred to the Israeli attacks on the culture, the religion and the identity of the Palestinian people, and declared that all this had been recognised by UNESCO, which had condemned the Israeli government. Mr. Mohamed Ould Khattar, Programme Specialist for Culture in the Maghreb division of the UNESCO Bureau, started his presentation by showing a map of the cultural heritage of the world. He discussed the necessity to protect the cultural heritage of the world from acts of destruction. In addition, he also made reference to the attacks of IS against mausoleums, statues, museums, as well as the ever growing illegal dig sites. He then added that UNESCO had defined all of the actions as ‘Cultural Cleansing’ and that the UNSC had introduced the protection of cultural heritage in the peacekeeping mandate in Mali. Furthermore, he mentioned Resolution 2199 of the UNSC, which establishes the responsibility of States within the framework of the protection of cultural heritage. 2 Mr. Ahmed Skounti, Expert at the Ministry of Culture of Morocco, thanked the Moroccan parliament as well as PAM for the organisation of this crucial event. He referred to the UNESCO conventions of 1972 and 2003 concerning the protection of cultural heritage. Given that the definition of the destruction of cultural heritage hadn’t been included in either of the previously mentioned conventions, he explained the term. He added that UNESCO is working on the protection of cultural heritage sites and doing its utmost to avoid the systematic eradication of the local populations. He then added that the protection of intangible cultural heritage was considerably more complicated than that of the tangible cultural heritage. Furthermore, he spoke of the preservation of cultural items in times of war as well as in times of peace and concluded that culture was an important factor in overcoming conflicts and facilitating reconstruction. DEBATE Mr. Mohamed Abou El Enein (Egypt), PAM Honorary President and Roving Ambassador, started by underlining the importance of the conference in reference to the safeguarding of the history and values of our civilisations. Furthermore, he spoke of Egypt as the birthplace of one of the most ancient civilisations, as well as the threats faced by the local population. He referred to the attacks aimed at museums in Cairo and of the destruction of the Scientific Centre in Tahrir Square. He mentioned that an end should be put to these acts of destruction by educating younger generations, and that one should oppose those who wish to fuel hatred towards Arabs and Muslims. He also touched on the subject of the crises in Libya, Syria and Iraq. Hon. Faisal Nayef El-Awar (Jordan), spoke of the Jordanian people, of their role in the protection of cultural heritage, and of the importance of education when teaching respect of cultural heritage to younger generations. He mentioned that all States who do not respect their heritage didn’t deserve to be called States, and that heads of government who hid in their ivory towers were, quite simply, criminals. He also mentioned terrorism and that each State should do their utmost to help International Organisations in their fight against this threat. Sen. Francois Commeinhes (France), warned that members of parliament should work to create national legislative frameworks in order to put an end to attacks against cultural heritage. In addition, he mentioned that think-tanks should be put in place, as has been done by INTERPOL in Lyon, and that assistance should be provided to governments in order to protect cultural heritage. In his conclusion, he spoke of the importance of unifying various national legislations in order to tackle terrorist groups in a global way. Hon. Roula Mavronikola (Cyprus), reminded everyone that Cyprus has ratified all international conventions pertinent to cultural heritage, and mentioned the destruction of monasteries and Greek churches in Cyprus. She further spoke of criminal acts