Special Focus II

1-‐obtained from Dictionary.com 2-‐http://www1.american.edu/TED/monument.htm

Committee: Special Focus II

Question of: Question of the ownership over national heritage which have been displaced prior to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1972

Chair: Mert Salur

Background Information

The term ‘national heritage’ can be described as: “anything of national significance which is handed down and preserved through generations, esp. architecture, landscapes, documents, and other artifacts; also, a body set up to carry out this preservation.” 1 Considering this definition, national heritage can range from ancient documents of a civilization to territories disputed among by nations due to cultural reasons.

In 1972, member states of the United Nation’s branch United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) came together to adopt an agreement upon the definition, protection, and ownership of national and cultural heritage. This agreement did have an effect on future conflicts, but despite the thirty eight year difference, problems originating prior to the convention still resume.

An example of a persisting issue is the issue of the Elgin Marbles. The Elgin Marbles are a set of metopes, figures, and friezes which were removed from Greece when it was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. The Elgin Marbles are estimated to have been excavated from the Parthenon during the beginning of the 19th century when Lord Elgin, an ambassador received permission from the Ottoman Empire to take these historical and cultural artifacts back to England as personal belongings. However, a court in England ruled that Lord Elgin’s actions were not acceptable, therefore purchased the artifacts and placed them in the British Museum, becoming one of the museums signature artifacts. The government of Greece, since becoming a free republic, has constantly demanded that the artifacts be returned as they ‘occupy a central position in the cultural heritage of Greece and are symbolic of the Greek people's link with its own past,’ and were ‘forcibly taken while Greece was under foreign occupation.’ 2 This issue poses an interesting question as the government claims that it was not them who gave away their heritage to the British government, therefore they are just in demanding the Elgin Marbles back.

Another example of dispute over national heritage is the Cyrus Cylinder, which is in fact a piece of writing on clay which depicts the capture of Nabonidus in 539 BC. It is alleged by the Iranians to be the first charter of human rights in history. This charter is on display in the British Museum and the government of Iran has, very much like the government of Greece, demanded for their artifacts back. The vice president responsible for Iran’s Cultural Heritage Hamid Baqaei has stated: “If the British Museum continues to make excuses for not loaning the artifact to the National Museum, we will, unfortunately, cease any co-operation with them, including archaeological expeditions and research.” The dispute of the Cyrus Cylinder conveys how the


dispute of ownership of national heritage can affect future co-operations between nations regarding national heritage.

The Preah Vihear Temple, disputed by Cambodia and Thailand is a site of heritage which both nations claim as their ‘natural heritage.’ Interestingly, this case was brought to a decision in 1962, The International Court of Justice in The Hague, awarded ownership of the temple to Cambodia after heated debates which included former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Archeson. The court agreed that Cambodia was the owner of the site due to technicalities stated in previous agreements that the governments had accepted, which logically granted the ownership to Cambodia. However, for several years the site was inaccessible due to guerilla warfare throughout Cambodia. Despite being a world heritage site, access to the site was very limited, and often impossible, which brings up the issue of the continuous safety of world heritage sites. Recently this issue has once again augmented into a continuing dispute after Cambodia’s attempt to register the temple as a world heritage site without the consent of Thailand. Amid ongoing protests, both nations increased the number of armed forces on their common border and in October of 2008, fire was exchanged between the nations. This clash re-occurred in April of 2009, and January of 2010, claiming the lives of numerous soldiers from both sides

All of these examples convey that disputes of the past still persist today and that inadequate measures of the past have prevented these issues from being solved in their respective times. Despite previous international agreements, disputes continue today as they damage international relations and claim the lives of individuals. The Geneva Convention of 1972 has however laid down an understanding of national heritage should be regarded and how these issues should be countered. With the proper implementation of this convention as well as necessary additions to suit today’s society, The Geneva Convention of 1972 can have a greater effect in the near future.

Involved Parties

• The United Kingdom – The possesers of the the Elgin Marbles and the Cyrus Cylinder, internationally recognized artifacts of signficiance which are claimed by other nations as cultural heritage

• Iran – Claim to be the righteous owners of the Cyrus Cylinder • Cambodia –Ongoing dispute with Thailand regarding the Preah Vihear Temple. Has had

military clashes with Thailand. • Greece – Claim to be the original owners of the Elgin Marbles, which are in the British

Museum in London • Thailand – Ongoing dispute with Cambodia regarding the Preah Vihear Temple as they

continue to claim ownership of the Preah Vihear Temple amid current conflicts with Cambodia


Possible Solutions

• The adoption of a new agreement regarding the definition of national heritage which states how disputed national heritage will be handled

• The formation of an international and international judiciary body under the ICJ which would only oversee cases in which national heritage is disputed.

• Drawing up international regulations regarding how disputed national heritage is to be transferred to other nations

• Opening up the Geneva Convention of 1972 to possible amendments by UNESCO member nations

• Enabling nations who were founded after 1972 to additionally agree to this agreement made in 1972.

• An agreement with the Security Council of the United Nations regarding economic sanctions against nations which are involved in national heritage disputes which harm and/or disable access to UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• The involvement of UN Peace-keeping forces in areas affected by military disputes regarding national heritage.

United Nations Involvement

In 1972, in a convention by the United Nation’s organization UNESCO adopted Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. This agreement was officially adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO.

The official and original version of the agreement can be found at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext

Further Reading

An article which revisits and re-evaluates the situation of the Preah Vihear Temple

http://www.policy-net.org/blogs/thefareast/thaicambod

Further information regarding the Elgin Marbles:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/w/what_are_the_elgin_marbles.aspx

A resolution by WIPO regarding ‘Art and Cultural Heritage’

http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2009/04/article_0007.html


Sources

Williams, S. (2009, October 26). Heritage key's top 5 latest artefacts . Retrieved from http://heritage-key.com/category/tags/cyrus-cylinder

Gunn, N. (2009, October 18). Cyrus cylinder - first charter of human rights?. Retrieved from http://ancient-middle-eastern-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/cyrus_cylinder_first_charter_of_human_rights

The Elgin marbles. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www1.american.edu/TED/monument.htm

What are the 'elgin marbles'?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/w/what_are_the_elgin_marbles.aspx

Munthit, K. (2008, July 8). Ancient temple in cambodia is center of yet one more territorial dispute . Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-16823463.html

Khmer, . (2008, July 22). Why Thai-cambodian temple dispute lingers . Retrieved from http://www.cambodia.org/blogs/editorials/2008/07/why-thai-cambodian-temple-dispute.html

Standoff holds after cambodia-‐thai border clash. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Standoff+holds+after+Cambodia-‐Thai+border+clash-‐a01611836449


Question of:The prevention of the impact created by climate change on the world’s fragile cultural heritage Chair: Sis Gürdal Backgroung Information Climate change has currently become one of the most consequential challenges and has been and will be felt worldwide. Cultural Heritage, an indispensable factor will be affected drastically due to climate change and therefore many countries and the UN have to take action immediately in order to prevent this from happening. Though serious research has been conducted over the years regarding this issue, the roots and mechanisms of the global climate change is yet unclear. Culture is extremely important for a population to survive and represents the historical and distinctive aspects of a certain group, so it is crucial that the cultural heritage is preserved and protected. Cultural heritage can be in many different forms including architectural structures, cities which are historic, memorials, palaces, temples and cultural landscapes that need to be considered valuable and worth preserving. The affects that climate change brings such as increasing windstorms, rising sea levels, the increase of humidity or a dry climate, the deterioration of permafrost, increasing desertification and soil degradation are among the changes that pose threats to our cultural heritage. Currently, certain studies are being carried out to monitor the impact of the climate change on some World Heritage sites, with an aim to obtain preventive measures and recognize the global challenges as well as raising public awareness. Related Countries The effect of the global climate change on our cultural heritage is an issue that concerns all the nations that value and wish to preserve their culture and history. This refers especially to the countries which include sites that are considered to form a part of the World Heritage List. These countries are Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Fazo, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gamgia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Holy See,Honduraz, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jerusalem, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali,


Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sedbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Soloman Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland,Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania, Thailand, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Some Ways to prevent this Increased monitoring is the most promising way to protect sites in the Polar Region since the deterioration of permafrost can only be stopped by extreme reduction of climate change. Tourist activities with short- term income can harm the environment and should be avoided especially in areas that are under threat of desertification. Development projects should be designed in these areas to prevent depleting the underground water. To protect the cultural heritages which are located in desert areas from being covered up in sand, existing sand must be removed thoroughly and continuously, increasing the monitoring is also essential. The construction of wide river embarkments will prevent flooding and constant monitoring will still be required, unfortunately, this measurment against the climate change is expensive which makes the situation more challenging for economically less developed countries. Possible Laws: Even though they are not very affective ,there are certain enviromental laws that address the protection of our cultural heritage such as: • The heritage conservation law • Pollution law • Land use law • Construction law • Water law • Environmental impact assessment law • Planning law UN Involvement The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was founded by the UN in 1972 in order to develop a proper framework for the preservation of our shared cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations. This convention’s aim is to preserve our national cultural heritage by establishing an international co-operating system that will assist the convention in protecting and identifying the heritage. UNFCCC: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the most important convention reagrding this issue.


“The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that the Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve (...) stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” (Article 2 of the UFCCC) Graphics Useful Sources: This is information on The world Heritages including graphics, charts and maps: http://www.oceaniatourismalliance.net/Documents/Tourism_and_Cl imate_Change/publi_climatechange.pdf Information on the impact of Climate Change on our cultural heritage and some ways to prevent this: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1285741 Here is the list of the World Heritage List: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list Ways to prevent this issue in the Polar Region: http://www.ats.aq/documents/recatt/Att006_e.pdf General Information of the impacts that climate change creates: http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/5059/1/5059.pdf Works Cited OSS Foundation,Open Souce Systems, Science, Solutions. 4 January 2010 http://www.ossfoundation.us/projects/environment/global- warming/myths/images/temperature-records/Fig.A3.lrg.gif/view Augustin Collete, Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage, UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION, 2007, 2 January 2010 http://www.oceaniatourismalliance.net/Documents/Tourism_and_Cl imate_Change/publi_climatechange.pdf Stefan Gruber, Enviromental Law and the Threat of Global Climate Change to Cultural Heritage Sites, Social Science Electronic Publishing Inc., September 2008, 3 January 2010 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1285741 World Heritage List, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2009, 2 January 2010 http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

Special Focus II

Documents

Transcript of Special Focus II