Annotated Agenda
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Annotated Agenda FIRST PLENARY SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF AFGHANISTAN’S CULTURAL HERITAGE 16-18 June 2003 UNESCO Headquarters, Paris Bonvin building 1, rue Miollis 75015 Paris Room XIII Peace and stability are at last in sight for the Afghan people. While areas of insecurity and volatility still remain, the opportunity to rally the international community to support a coordinated relief, recovery, rehabilitation, return and reintegration effort is unique and must be seized. It is now vital that immediate steps are taken to promote a return to normal life and stability and to prepare for longer-term development. In this context, the safeguarding of all aspects of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, including museums, monuments, archeological sites, music, art, traditional crafts etc. holds an important position in order to strengthen the sense of national integrity. Cultural heritage can become a rallying point for former adversaries, enabling them to re-build ties and dialogue and re-design a common identity and future together. UNESCO’s strategy is to help re-establish the links between the populations concerned and their cultural history, helping them to develop a sense of common ownership of monuments that represent the cultural identity of different segments of society. It is therefore directly linked to the nation-building process within the framework of the UN and international concerted efforts for rehabilitating Afghanistan. With reference to UN Secretary-General’s dictum “Our challenge is to help the Afghans help themselves," policies and activities for the safeguarding of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage will focus on training and capacity building activities, related to the preservation of this cultural heritage. In addition, following the Government of Afghanistan’s request to UNESCO to coordinate all international efforts in the field of culture, the International Coordination Committee for the Safeguarding of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage is being created under the auspices of UNESCO. The Committee’s advice will enable the Afghan authorities to develop a cultural policy framework for immediate and long-term heritage protection. The mandate of this Committee as defined in its Statutes as approved by UNESCO’s Executive Board at is 165th meeting in October 2002, is to “advise the Director-General – who 1 will inform the Afghan authorities, Member States and other partners – on measures to improve and reinforce international cooperation for the safeguarding of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage, and more precisely on: (a) a policy framework for immediate and long-term heritage protection and the definition of priorities and practical standards according to the funds and technical assistance available or forthcoming in the near future; (b) concrete programmes and international assistance of the highest international standards; (c) the progress of the various activities in support of the safeguarding of Afghan cultural heritage in order to avoid duplication or conflicts of any kind; (d) the exchange of knowledge on cultural sites, museums and cultural traditions throughout the country; (e) identification of the funds available from the donor countries and other partners in order to ensure their proper coordination, as well as identification of possible supplementary funding and technical assistance for the safeguarding of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage; (f) assistance to the Afghan authorities in implementing or elaborating the necessary legislative action to protect their cultural heritage and in preparing nominations of potential world heritage properties for inscription on the World Heritage List.” The Committee is invited, as it considers the various items on the agenda of this meeting, to bear in mind the above tasks and draw up conclusions and recommendations in response thereto. 2 Monday, 16 June 2003 9:30-10.45h Opening Session 9.30h Statements by : ?? Dr Makhdoum RAHEEN, Minister of Information and Culture of the Afghan Transitional Government ?? Mr Koïchiro MATSUURA, Director-General of UNESCO; ?? Dr G. R. YUSUFZAI, Deputy Minister for Culture of the Afghan Transitional Government and Chairperson of the “National Council for the Protection and Rehabilitation of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage”; ?? Dr Tamás FEJÉRDY, Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee. 10.15 h Adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the ICC and election of four Vice Chairpersons and a Rapporteur While the Chairperson of the Committee is appointed by the Director-General for a period of four years (Article 4.1. of the Statutes of the ICC), the Committee shall elect four Vice- Chairpersons and a Rapporteur for the same term (Articles 4.1. and 4.2. of the Statutes and Article 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the ICC). 10.45-13.30h Session 1: Capacity building, archaeological research and conservation activities of various donor countries and organizations Background: Archaeological research and capacity-building activities are presently being organized by the French Archaeological Mission to Afghanistan, the Istituto per l'Africa e l'Oriente and the German Archaeological Institute at many cultural sites and institutions in Afghanistan. Various donor countries and organizations, such as the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, are also preparing or already carrying out conservation activities. Expected result: Different activities and their progress coordinated in order to avoid duplication. Interventions by: ?? Mr Roland BESENVAL, Head of the French Archaeological Mission to Afghanistan (DAFA), on DAFA activities, namely in Balkh, Ai Khanum, Kabul and Bamiyan; ?? Professor Giovanni VERARDI, Istituto per l'Africa e l’Oriente, on Italy’s conservation projects, in particular in Ghazni; ?? Professor Dr Hermann PARZINGER, President of the German Archaeological Institute, on institutional capacity building for archaeological institutions in Afghanistan and the rehabilitation of the Bagh-e Babur Gardens; ?? Professor Michael PETZET, President of ICOMOS, on projects for restoration and reconstruction of houses in traditional materials in Kabul and the rehabilitation of Bagh-e Babur Gardens; ?? Mr Jolyon LESLIE, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, on Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s activities in Afghanistan, namely conservation of traditional housing and the Bagh-e Babur Gardens; 3 ?? Dr Rasoul VATANDOUST, Director of Research Centre for Conservation of Cultural Relics and Head of Department for Cultural and International Relations of the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization, on Iranian conservation projects, mainly for Islamic monuments and training for Afghan specialists; ?? Ms Nancy HATCH-DUPREE, founding member of SPACH, on SPACH’s projects in Afghanistan; ?? Mr Michael K. TRIMBLE, Chief, Curation and Archives Analysis Brand, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on a possible contribution of the United States for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage Discussion 13.30- 15.00 h Lunch 15-18 h Session 2: Implementation of the World Heritage Convention and the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, National Inventories and documentation Background: The World Heritage Convention is being implemented in Afghanistan through capacity-building activities for establishing Tentative Lists, nominating new properties for inscription on the World Heritage List, and enhancing conservation, management and presentation of World Heritage or potential World Heritage properties in Afghanistan. Illicit traffic of cultural property is a problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible. The continuing and systematic looting of cultural heritage properties in Afghanistan, in particular from well-known archaeological sites that have been researched in the past by national and international scholars, has to be stopped. To this aim, inventories need to be strengthened and especially the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, shall be ratified and implemented. The re-establishment of the national inventory of heritage properties and movable objects, the mobilization of international support for compiling records and documentation, and rebuilding of resources are urgent needs which were underscored in the recommendations of the Kabul Seminar. Expected results: International cooperation for the implementation of the Conventions improved, recommendations on measures for the prevention of illicit traffic obtained and highest international standards for the National Inventories and documentation ensured. Interventions by: ?? Dr Tamás FEJÉRDY, Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, and Ms Junko TANIGUCHI, World Heritage Centre, on the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Afghanistan; ?? Mr Abdul Wasey FEROOZI, Head of the Institute of Archaeology, Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, on National Inventories and documentation; ?? Mr Guido CARDUCCI, UNESCO, Chief of International Standards Section, Division of Cultural Heritage, on legislative and concrete actions to be taken to prevent illicit traffic of cultural property; ?? Professor Giovanni VERARDI, Istituto per l'Africa e l'Oriente, Mr Roland BESENVAL, Head of the French Archaeological Mission to Afghanistan, and 4 Professor Dr Hermann PARZINGER, President of the German Archaeological Institute, on priorities and practical standards for archaeological documentation;