The events of the past 10 years, particularly in former Jugoslavia, Cambodia, the Middle East and Africa, have shown how fragile the protection of cultural heritage is when conflicts escalate into war. In that many conflicts today have strong ethnic elements, cultural heritage is especially vulnerable. The destruction of historical evidence, cultural monuments and cultural objects is used in a conscious strategy which is aimed at taking away people’s dignity and breaking their affinity with their native
district. In recent years great efforts have been made by UNESCO and the Council of Europe to draw attention to the need to protect the cultural heritage when there are conflicts of various kinds and to help with concrete efforts to monitor, document and protect cultural monuments and collections and to participate in ensuring that what is taken away or damaged can be restored, repaired or rebuilt. The basis of the world community’s work is the conviction that the world’s cultural heritage belongs to all people and that preservation of cultural heritage is included in human rights.
