Ukraine’s UNESCO Commission urges international action after attacks on cultural heritage sites

The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO has condemned Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv, which damaged the grounds of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, and called for a stronger international response to the continued targeting of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

In its statement, the Commission emphasized that the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO world heritage site protected under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The attack, it argued, represents not only a strike against Ukraine but also against cultural heritage of global significance.

The Commission also denounced attacks on several major cultural institutions, including the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Cultural, Art, and Museum Complex, the National Palace of Arts “Ukraine,” the I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television, the House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro, and the Kharkiv Art Museum.

Representatives further expressed outrage over the shelling of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio, which resulted in the destruction of Ukraine’s oldest costume collection.

“Russia has once again demonstrated its complete disregard for human life, international law, and the values that unite the civilized world. By destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage, the aggressor seeks to erase historical memory and inflicts damage upon the heritage of all humankind.

“We call on the international community to stop tolerating these crimes, to increase political, economic, and legal pressure on the aggressor state, and to take decisive measures to bring Russia’s aggression to an end as soon as possible,” the statement reads.

The Commission urged the leadership of the UNESCO Secretariat to respond firmly and to employ the mechanisms available through the UNESCO Executive Board, the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

“We expect the prompt deployment of UNESCO experts to the targeted cultural heritage sites to document the damage and provide an objective and impartial assessment of the consequences of yet another cynical Russian crime. Impunity breeds new crimes. The terrorist state must be held accountable,” stated representatives of the National Commission.

In addition, the Commission called on member states to work toward preventing Russia’s participation in key UNESCO bodies.

As reported earlier, at approximately 1:00 a.m. on June 15, 20126 a missile struck St. Stephen’s Chapel of the Assumption Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex. The blast also damaged the nearby Mystetsky Arsenal. The attack formed part of a broader assault that affected the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio in Kyiv and damaged the Museum of Books and Printing of Ukraine.

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Main image: State Emergency Service of Ukraine