Target and Trigger. A Reflection on the Relation Between Cultural Heritage and Peace and Security

Cultural heritage encompasses the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a society that have been inherited from past generations, such as buildings, monuments and historic places as well as works of art, literature, music, archaeological artefacts, manuscripts, books and collections of scientific, artistic or historic significance (Willis 2014, p. 167). From a security perspective—“the ability of a state to cater for the protection and defence of its citizenry” (Osisany 2014)—cultural heritage is often not considered of vital societal importance. This was one of the conclusions of the cross-sectoral meeting on the protection of cultural heritage in times of crisis, organised by the Netherlands Commission for Unesco at the provincial seat in North Brabant (Nationale Unesco Commissie 2018).

Knuth (2006) states that “some scholars estimate that, altogether, Poland lost about 90 percent of its school and public library collections during German Occupation, 70 to 80 percent of its specialised and private collections, and about 55 percent of its scientific collections” (pp. 166–167). See also Dunin-Wasowicz (1996).

Mr. Almadhi was accused of the ICC Rome Statute, pursuant to article 25(3)(a) (perpetration and co-perpetration); article 25(3)(b) (soliciting, inducing); article 25(3)(c) (aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting) or article 25(3)(d) (contributing in any other way) (ICC 2018).

The close relationship between dignity, the right to culture and the right to self-determination (including the right to pursue autonomous economic, cultural and social development) was acknowledged by the United Nations in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNGA 2007) and in the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response. The latter refers to people’s ability to respond first to a crisis situation through “their own efforts” (art. 2.1.) (The Sphere Project 2004, p. 18).

The phrase ‘thread of continuity’ used by Stanley-Prince originally comes from the study by Marris (1974, p. 17) quoted in Loizos (1981, p. 197): “the impulse to preserve the thread of continuity is thus a crucial instinct of survival”.

The word ‘Moor’ refers to a group of Muslim people from North Africa who ruled Spain from 711 to 1492 (‘Moor’ n.d., Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary and Thesaurus).

According to the NCTV (9th September 2019c), “The second dimension of the definition of national security relates to social disruption. This means that any particular development only threatens national security in the event that its severity results in or could result in social disruption and/or actually/potentially jeopardises social continuity. This could be in the form of social or political instability, serious damage to the ecological living environment or loss of fundamental trust in the functioning of society, for example” (p. 13).

The administrators of these regions are responsible for taking stock of risks (fire, disaster and crisis) and advising the competent authorities (such as municipalities within the regions) on risks. The regions form the link between the local civil protection services and national governmental institutions.