RESOLUTION

 

The participants to the November 2005 Vienna Seminar on the Protection of Cultural Property and (Military) Leadership,

Thanking the Austrian authorities and, in particular, the Institute for Human and Social Sciences of the Austrian National Defence Academy, the Monterey Center for Civil-Military Relations, and the Austrian Society for the Protection of Cultural Property for their substantial contribution to the organization of this Seminar and their active contribution to the protection of cultural property;

Recalling the importance of the interdisciplinary approach in the protection of cultural property;

Recognizing the role of moral and ethical elements in the protection of cultural property, and particularly, in the training and education of target groups such as military and law-enforcement personnel;

Recalling the fundamental message of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict that “damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, since each people makes its contribution to the culture of the world”.

Resolve, therefore to:

1. INVITE the relevant authorities of States participating in this Seminar to raise awareness of protection of cultural property, including through civilian educational institutions;
2. INVITE the relevant authorities of States participating in this Seminar to introduce specialized training programmes on protection of cultural property for military personnel reflecting their fundamental role in such protection both in peacetime and in the event of armed conflict;
3. ENCOURAGE States not yet party to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and/or its 1954 and 1999 Protocols promptly to join them and to adopt relevant national legislation to enable them to be effectively implemented;
4. TAKE NOTE of national experience in the protection of cultural property through specialized training of military and law-enforcement personnel; and
5. ENCOURAGE the relevant authorities of States participating in this Seminar to systematically exchange experience and to strengthen mutual co-operation; and
6. INVITE the relevant authorities of States participating in this Seminar as well as authorities of other States, UNESCO, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Committee of the Blue Shield, national Blue Shield Committees, the International League of National Societies for Cultural Property Protection and the relevant non-governmental organizations to disseminate widely the results of this Seminar.