Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Bonn, SANA – The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) renewed condemnation of the attacks launched by the terrorist “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” organization (ISIS) against archeological sites in Syria and Iraq, describing them as “war crimes”.
This came in a statement adopted by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee under the title of “the Bonn Declaration on World Heritage” which expressed deep concern over sites such as Palmyra in Syria, which is being mined by ISIS.
UNESCO condemned “the barbaric assaults, violence and crimes committed in recent times by ISIS against the cultural heritage of Iraq, including the World Heritage site at Hatra, which recalls mindless destructions in Bamiyan, Timbuktu and elsewhere.”
The Declaration recommended that” heritage protection be included in the mandate of peacekeeping missions where appropriate”, calling upon UNESCO to enhance its international leadership in coordinating the response to the protection of heritage in the event of armed conflict or natural disaster.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, launched the Global Coalition, (Unite for Heritage), during the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Bonn, Germany.
The campaign is designed to strengthen the mobilization of governments and all heritage stakeholders in the face of deliberate damage to cultural heritage, particularly in the Middle East.
“The threat is global and our response must be global. It requires better coordination among national services, the exchange of information among States. Nothing can replace, in this area, the action of governments,” said Bokova.
“Our main challenge is to succeed in getting all the players involved in this struggle to work together: police, customs officials, museums, governments, actors from the cultural, humanitarian and security sectors, civil society and the media. We need to create new alliances to meet the challenges of violent extremism,” she added.
Rasha Milhem/ Barry
