Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
n.an international treaty providing for the preservation of cultural heritage, including archival resources, during conflictMontgomery 2010, 152Following the vast looting and destruction of artifacts and cultural property during World War II, nations adopted the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The convention, which marked the most sweeping effort to protect cultural property during times of armed conflict and occupation, obligated warring and occupying armies to prohibit the destruction, theft, pillage, or misappropriation of cultural property. The convention specifically mentioned and provided for the protection of historical manuscripts and archives during wartime, but not for current public records. As such, the Hague Convention also made the distinction between historical archives as protected moveable cultural property, and non-protected current records of the state.Caswell 2011, 222Today, our modern concept of cultural property stems primarily from the Hague Convention of 1954. While archives may contain records of personal, political, financial, or artistic significance, all archives are defined as cultural property according to international law. [footnote] The Hague Convention presents a broad, universal notion of cultural property that clearly includes archives . . .Cox 2011, 454The concept finds its most famous expression in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which expressly extends protections to “archives” and declares in its preamble that “damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind.” [footnote]Cox 2011, 474, fn. 105The “Blue Shield” refers to the symbol created by the 1954 Hague Convention that is meant to clearly identify cultural property to combatants during armed conflict.Montgomery 2015, 301The 1954 Hague Convention establishes joint obligations of both attackers and defenders for protection of cultural property. It aims to ensure the continued preservation of archaeological sites, historical structures, works of art, scientific collections, and other forms of cultural property. It prohibits the pillage, destruction, theft, or misappropriation of cultural heritage and expressly lists repositories of cultural objects, museums, libraries, and archives as examples of cultural property that must be safeguarded in times of war and occupation. Together with the 1907 Hague Convention, it draws an implicit distinction between manuscripts and archives housed in cultural institutions, which are provided protective status, and public enemy property, including records of the state, which may be seized during hostilities to gain military advantage or, if warranted, by military necessity and occupation.
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Commonly referred to as the 1954 Hague Convention, the treaty is administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The United States ratified the treaty in 2009.
