This Year, Make a Lasting Impact with your MayDay Activities!

Help Blue Shield Australia with its Lost and Damaged Cultural Heritage Register initiative to gather data that can be used to reinforce advocacy and lobbying for greater support in disaster preparedness and risk mitigation. After a disaster (from natural and man-made disasters, conflict, accidents, to vandalism and theft) frequently there are few records, qualitative or quantitative, of what impacts disasters have had on our cultural heritage.

To address this gap in records Blue Shield Australia ask that your organisation respond to our short survey regarding the impact of disasters on collections. Please, pass the survey link on to your networks to help us build the case for greater support in this area. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6HZHZT5

The Nepal Cultural Emergency Crowdmap Initiative is the result of a combined effort by ICCROM, ICOMOS-ICORP. The initiative successful in gathering valuable information thanks to the contributions of several institutions namely, the Smithsonian Institution, USA, the Disaster Relief Task Force of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-DRTF) and UNESCO office in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Overview Report is available at http://australia.icomos.org/wp-content/uploads/Nepal-Cultural-Emergency-Crowdmap-Initiative-Overview-Report.pdf

A series of devastating earthquakes have struck Nepal over the weekend, causing loss of more than 2000 lives. The initial 7.8 magnitude quake, along with aftershocks as high as 6.7 magnitude, caused destruction and severe damage to the historic centre of Kathmandu and other heritage sites throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Quake-related damage has been reported throughout the region.

ICCROM project specialist Aparna Tandon, Rohit Jigyasu of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness – ICORP, and other partners have started the Kathmandu Cultural Emergency Crowdmap, which aims to collect information on the damage caused to cultural heritage sites and institutions in Nepal.

See http://icorp.icomos.org/index.php/news/60-nepal-earthquake for more information.

8 September 2014

by Abdulameer al Hamdani, Archaeologist, Iraq Heritage Senior Fellow – Iraq Heritage Report

March 2014

Blue Shield is the protective emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention, the basic international treaty formulating rules to protect cultural heritage during armed conflict. The Blue Shield network consists of organizations dealing with museums, archives, libraries, monuments and sites.

The Blue Shield’s mission is to work to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by armed conflict, natural and human-made disasters. For this reason, it places the expertise and network of its member organisations at the disposal of colleagues working in Iraq to support their actions in protecting the country’s heritage, and if necessary, in assessing subsequent recovery, restoration, and repair measures.

Website:
www.blueshield-international.org
Contact: Peter Stone, email: peter.stone@ncl.ac.uk, phone: +44 191 208 7095

17 June 2014

Blue Shield is appalled by the great suffering and loss of life in the current fighting in Iraq and expresses great concern about the safety of Iraq’s invaluable cultural and historical heritage.

Blue Shield urges all armed combatants to observe the international laws that protect cultural heritage and to act responsibly, safeguarding the testimony of Iraq’s unique history for the enrichment of future generations.

Iraq is home to some of the world’s oldest and most significant archaeological and cultural sites. Iraq has three UNESCO World Heritage sites and twelve tentative World Heritage sites. Iraq’s museums, particularly the national museum in Baghdad and the regional museum in Mosul, are repositories for countless irreplaceable artefacts that record this unique history.

In the event of international military action, Blue Shield calls on any participating countries to be mindful of obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols; the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; the additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions; and customary international law to avoid targeting cultural heritage sites and repositories and to minimize collateral damage to cultural heritage wherever possible.

Iraq ratified the 1954 Hague Convention and its First Protocol in 1967, thereby acknowledging and committing to the protection and preservation of cultural heritage in the case of armed conflict. Blue Shield urges the international community to help Iraq fulfil its obligations to this Convention and also urges all parties to the conflict to abide by Iraq’s Antiquities Law, Law Number 55 of 2002.

Blue Shield is concerned that archaeological and cultural objects may be removed from museums, libraries, archives, and archaeological sites and placed on the illegal international art market. The actions of all governments in preserving this heritage should be consistent with the terms and spirit of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, of which there are 127 States Parties. Blue Shield implores auction houses and other art outlets to ensure that no illegally exported material is sold.

27 February 2014

Following the civil conflict that has been shaking the Ukraine, the Blue Shield wishes to express its deep concern regarding the safeguarding and protection of the country’s invaluable cultural and historical heritage, as well as the institutions that house them and the people that care for them.

Ukraine’s museums, libraries and documentary heritage, monuments, churches and monasteries are under risk of threat from looting and destruction. The international heritage community wishes to warn of the potential harm that cultural property may suffer.

Reports regarding damages endured by the Kiev History Museum have given the Blue Shield and its members reasons for concern. The destruction of monuments linked to the political history of Ukraine is also at the forefront of the cultural community’s concerns. The Blue Shield urges the Ukrainian government to investigate the incident which occurred in the Kiev History Museum’s storage rooms on the nights of 18 and 19 February 2014, and to allocate protected storage space for particularly threatened collections.

Mindful of the importance of protecting the historical, artistic and scientific heritage of Ukraine, the Blue Shield welcomes the recent creation of a Blue Shield National Committee for Ukraine. This Blue Shield Committee is currently hard at work protecting all national monuments, regardless of their political or social origins. The Blue Shield strongly supports the Ukrainian National Committee’s initiative to protect the country’s rich range of cultural heritage and its efforts to coordinate and store information on the cultural assets.

Ukraine has been a State Party to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its first Protocol since their ratification on 6 February 1957. Ukraine is also a State Party to the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage since its ratification on 12 October 1988.

Ukraine’s 2004 International Humanitarian Law Manual clearly states that personnel responsible for the defence and protection of cultural property are “protected under international humanitarian law” and that directing attacks against such persons or “clearly identifiable cultural property” constitutes “a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. Cultural property is clearly defined within the manual as being “objects of great importance to the cultural heritage of peoples [and] that play an important role in their spiritual life.” These include, among others, works of art and religious or secular monuments.

The ratified international conventions, Ukraine’s specific legislation, and customary international law impose on nations the obligation to protect their cultural heritage in times of armed conflict. The Blue Shield calls on all parties concerned to fulfil these obligations and to protect the outstanding cultural heritage sites and repositories located within Ukraine.
The Blue Shield’s mission is to work to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by armed conflict, natural and human-made disasters. For this reason it places the expertise and network of its member organisations at the disposal of their colleagues working in Ukraine to support their work in protecting the country’s heritage, and if necessary, in assessing for subsequent recovery, restoration, and repair measures.

January 2014

The UNOCHA Asia-Pacific Regional Guidelines For The Use Of Foreign Military Assets In Natural Disaster Response Operations are a reference guide for Member States who plan and execute foreign military support for international disaster response, as well as humanitarian entities, in order to establish the basic framework for the effective and efficient use of foreign military assets in international disaster response operations in support of an Affected State[s] in the Asia-Pacific region.

March 2012

In the last three years Australia has witnessed unprecedented floods, cyclones and bushfires and destruction from the forces of nature is becoming more frequent and with greater consequences.

Our cultural heritage is precious to us as individuals, as local communities, as regions and as a nation. Cultural heritage is very much about those things which have meaning for people and communities – those things which demonstrate their past, whether they be books and documents, buildings, cultural landscapes, archaeological sites or museum objects. A community’s cultural heritage is a fundamental part of its way of life, history, traditions, civilization and identity. It contributes substantially to a community’s long-term economic sustainability, stability and welfare and provides the strength of will for people to live, recover and grow after trauma. There are many tales of appreciation and joy when affected people have recovered even small, but precious, objects often holding sole memories and important associations.

While understanding that the highest priorities must be accorded to humanitarian activities following a disaster, of significant concern also is the fate of cultural heritage. A delay in an appropriate emergency response inevitably leads to irreparable damage, diminished or complete loss of recovery capacity of cultural items, ongoing physical degradation and potential looting. Where regional networks of cultural institutions exist they have been be very effective in providing timely and effective aid to assist local and remote communities to repatriate and rehabilitate cultural items affected in a disaster.

For its MayDay 2012 campaign, Blue Shield Australia is organising a series of free regional workshops around Australia, to promote local co-operative agreements around disaster preparedness, planning, response and recovery. The aim of these workshops is to build networks, including emergency response personnel, where they do not exist presently and to examine existing network models so that they may be adapted for adoption in other regions.

The workshops are free but places are limited, so early registration is advised. We hope to see you on the day. Please see the flyer for more information or contact Donna McDowell by phone 1300 313 443 or email donna@thelibraryagency.org.au

More details are available in the attachments. MediaRelease.BSA.Disaster.Recovery.Workshops.2012 Flyer.BSA.Disaster.Recovery.Workshops.2012