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12 Mar 2022 Hague Convention 1954: Blue Shield

Posted at 15:51h in Daily current-affairs by khyati khare 0 Comments

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Recently the ‘United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’ (UNESCO) has emphasized on protective measures to preserve the endangered cultural heritage of Ukraine in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
To avoid accidental damage, the agency is marking cultural assets such as cultural sites and monuments in Ukraine with the distinctive ‘Blue Shield’ emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention for Protection in the event of armed conflict.

Background: In the context of history, armed conflicts have always wreaked havoc on the lives of the people. In addition to human casualties, armed conflicts have led to large-scale destruction of cultural heritage, undermining the foundations of communities, and the prospect of lasting peace and reconciliation.
Origin: Considering that the protection of cultural heritage is of great importance to all peoples of the world, it has stressed the need for universal protection, the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted under the auspices of UNESCO in 1954.
This convention is known as the Hague Convention of 1954.
It is the first and most comprehensive multilateral treaty specifically dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage in times of peace as well as during armed conflict.
Objectives: The purpose of the convention is to protect cultural property, including architecture, art or historical monuments, archaeological sites, works of art, manuscripts, books and other objects of artistic, historical or archaeological interest, as well as scientific collections of any kind regardless of their origin or ownership.
India is a party to the Hague Convention, 1954.

Requirement: In accordance with Article 6 of the Hague Convention, 1954, cultural property may have a distinctive symbol in order to facilitate its recognition.
Origin: Blue Shield formerly established by the International Committee of Blue Shield in 1996.
About Blue Shield: It is a non-governmental, non-profit, international organization committed to the protection of heritages around the world.
The Blue Shield Network is often referred to as the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross.
Tasks: Blue Shield is a worldwide network of dedicated individuals committed to protecting the world’s cultural heritage from threats such as armed conflict and natural disasters.
This includes museums, monuments, archaeological sites, archives, libraries, audio-visual materials and important natural areas as well as intangible heritage.
Related issue: Some states have refused to mark their cultural assets, arguing that if that property is marked as a symbol of national identity it will be more vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Unfortunately this has been proven during the war in the former Yugoslavia where cultural assets marked Blue Shield were deliberately targeted.

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that seeks to establish peace through international cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture.
It was established in the year 1945 and is headquartered in Paris, France.
It has 193 member countries and 11 associate members. India joined UNESCO in the year 1946.
In the year 2019, the United States and Israel formally left UNESCO.