Lesson 4: Cultural heritage and human rights

Destruction of Cultural Heritage

Cultural heritage is a human rights issue, and that the destruction of cultural heritage harms a range of human rights, such as the right to freedom of thought and religion, the right to freedom of expression, including the right to learning about your history and the history of others”
Karima Bennoune, the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, 27th October 2016

For more, watch: Culture, diversity and universality of human rights

The UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage defines “intentional destruction” as “an act intended to destroy in whole or in part cultural heritage, thus compromising its integrity, in a manner which constitutes a violation of international law or an unjustifiable offence to the principles of humanity and dictates of public conscience”. The qualification of intentional destruction may also be applied in cases of wilful neglect of cultural heritage either during armed conflicts or in times of peace, including with the intent of letting others destroy the cultural heritage in question, for example, through looting.