Cultural Treasures Under Attack: Who's Accountable?
By Sebastian Usher
August was a brutal month for Ukraine. Russian aerial attacks intensified, launching thousands of drones. Kyiv and southern cities like Mykolaiv and Odesa endured intense bombardment, with significant cultural sites damaged or destroyed. This raised again the question: why is it so challenging to hold actors accountable for destroying buildings and objects with real cultural significance?
In the last month alone, Ukraine's Ministry of Culture reported 148 cultural heritage sites damaged or destroyed, including in Odesa. Several Ukrainian activist groups have attempted to secure accountability by lodging complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russia regarding cultural destruction and looting, but no indictments have been issued.
Bijan Rouhani, a senior researcher at the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project, explains: "The legal framework is strong on paper, but in practice it falls short. No state actor has ever been tried for this offense. The obstacles are jurisdiction and political will."
A Global Issue
The conflict in Ukraine is just one of many recent wars that have highlighted the devastating impact of conflict on cultural heritage.
Tareq Abu Dayyeh, a Gaza-based craftworker, sells souvenirs featuring the Great Omari Mosque, symbolizing Gaza's identity. The mosque, damaged in an Israeli strike in 2023, represents its history through various iterations. Now, Dayyeh expresses profound sorrow whenever he sees the ruins: "When your past is destroyed, you have no present."
The war in Gaza has caused immense loss of life and an estimated 200,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. Cultural sites, too, have suffered significant losses. Similar sentiments echo through history from Sudan to Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran, where alarms have been raised about cultural heritage damage during times of conflict.
Over 100 sites in Iran are reported damaged during the US-Israel aerial campaign in February, including UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace and Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan. The civil war in Sudan has also threatened the Meroe Pyramids, an ancient wonder of the world built during the Kingdom of Kush civilization, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
Preserving Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict
Unesco has warned that fighting in Sudan has halted all preservation efforts for the Meroe Pyramids and other sites. Similar concerns exist worldwide as conflicts continue to wreak havoc on cultural treasures, leaving behind a legacy of loss and destruction.