Ukraine to propose UNESCO study on explosive ordnance impact on cultural heritage

Ukraine intends to propose to the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict that an international study be launched on the impact of explosive, vibrational, acoustic, and infrastructural factors on cultural property, according to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.

"The meeting participants paid particular attention to the consequences of the Russian Federation's recent massive attacks on Kyiv and Lviv, which resulted in damage to cultural property under enhanced protection and enjoying the highest level of international immunity. In this regard, Ukraine, with the participation of national and international experts, has prepared a package of proposals for consideration by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. "Consultations are currently underway with the Committee's member states regarding support for holding an extraordinary session to consider relevant decisions," the ministry stated in a report following the meeting of the Interagency Commission on the Implementation and Application of International Humanitarian Law in Ukraine.

It is noted that among the initiatives proposed for international discussion are: further expansion of the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection; launching an international study on the impact of explosive, vibrational, acoustic, and infrastructural factors on cultural property during armed conflict; improving the ad hoc monitoring mechanism based on Ukrainian experience; and reviving the discussion on the possibility of reinstating the mechanism of the General Commissioner provided for by the 1954 Hague Convention.