UNESCO places 34 Lebanese cultural assets under “reinforced protection”

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UNESCO announced this Monday the activation of “reinforced protection” of 34 cultural assets in Lebanon against the risk of being damaged or used for military purposes in combat between Israeli troops and Hezbollah.

This protection includes the World Heritage sites of Baalbek and Tyre. two areas with Phoenician, Greek and Roman remains —, near which attacks were recently reported, the Paris-based UN agency said in a statement.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This meeting was called at the request of the Lebanese authorities.

“These 34 cultural properties now enjoy the highest level of immunity against attacks and military use. Failure to comply with these clauses would constitute a ‘serious breach’ of the 1954 Hague Convention and would open the possibility of legal action,” warns UNESCO.

The organization specifies that this new protection regime, which only benefits a dozen countries around the world, including several parts of Ukraine, is “accompanied by technical and financial assistance” from UNESCO itself.

This assistance will serve to “strengthen legal protection, risk anticipation and management, as well as the training of website administrators in this field.” “It also helps alert the international community to the urgent need to protect them.”

“UNESCO maintains close and long-standing cooperation with Lebanon. We will spare no effort to provide all the knowledge and assistance necessary to protect its exceptional heritage,” said Audrey Azoulay, general director of the organization, quoted in the statement.

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