Protection of cultural heritage in disaster contexts

In practice, protecting cultural heritage has reflected not only in having an inventory of cultural heritage and plans to evacuate movable cultural properties in heritage sites, museums, libraries, etc., when they are threatened by predictable disasters, but also in environmental and architectural laws and policies on construction around certain historical places. Deliberate destruction of cultural heritage (e.g., in armed conflict) lead to criminal prosecution under both national and international law. Under the Rome Statute of the ICC, for instance, it is a war crime to “intentionally [direct] attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments […] provided they are not military objectives”.

Note: See source document for full reference.

Cultural Factors: Customs/traditions/rituals, Rule of law

Hazards: Natural hazards, Man-made non-intentional hazards or emergency situations, Man-made intentional hazards

Disaster Phases: Response, Preparedness

Types of Actors Concerned: National civil protection body, Government

Recommendations:

• Prioritise protection of cultural heritage when preparing disaster management plans and procedures. Moreover, disasters managers should capitalize on tangible and intangible cultural heritage to assist communities in becoming more resilience