Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

NARRATOR

For millennia, sociocultural evolution has been expressed through creating and building. Whether it be temples, theatres, monuments, sculptures, or any other work of art, these masterpieces help to shape our identity. And yet, they're often damaged or even destroyed as a result of armed conflict.

This destruction can have catastrophic consequences for current and future generations. In 1954, in the aftermath of the massive destruction of cultural property in the second world war, the international community unanimously recognised the importance of protecting cultural properties from irreversible damage. And in the spirit of universal responsibility, the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was born.

Now broadly referred to as the 1954 Hague Convention, it is the first international treaty with a worldwide vocation, focusing on the protection of cultural heritage in the event of an armed conflict. The Convention protects movable or immovable property of great importance to international cultural heritage, such as monuments and architecture, archaeological sites, buildings of historical or artistic interest, buildings dedicated to religion, manuscripts, books, and other objects of artistic, historical, or archaeological value, as well as scientific connections and important collections of archives.