Protection of Heritages - International Cooperation

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World Heritage Convention:

The World Heritage Convention, adopted in 1972, is a legally binding instrument providing an intergovernmental framework for international cooperation for the identification and conservation of the world's most outstanding natural and cultural properties.

The Convention sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential sites and their role in protecting and preserving them. By ratifying the Convention, each country enters in a system of international cooperation to protect the world cultural and natural heritage and pledges to conserve the World Heritage sites situated on its territory. The States Parties are encouraged to integrate the protection of cultural and natural heritage into regional planning programmes, set up staff and services at their sites, undertake scientific and technical conservation research and adopt measures that give this heritage a function in community day-to-day life.

The Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee are ICCROM (the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) and IUCN – the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The General Policies of the Convention theme includes policies related to the overarching framework of the Convention; the links with other standard-setting instruments, cooperation among States and implementation of the Convention at the national level.

The Convention defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

It explains how the World Heritage Fund is to be used and managed and under what conditions international financial assistance may be provided.

World Heritage Fund:

The Fund for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of Outstanding Universal Value, called "the World Heritage Fund", was established in 1977 under Article 15 of the World Heritage Convention.

The World Heritage Committee makes decisions on the amount of the budget of the World Heritage Fund as well as on its use. The World Heritage Fund amounts to 5.9 million dollars for the biennium 2022-2023, plus 0.4 million dollars for Emergency assistance as defined in article 21.2 of the World Heritage Convention.

The World Heritage Committee:

The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly. At its first session, the Committee adopted its Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee.

The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage entered into force on 17 December 1975, three months after the date of the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification, acceptance or accession, pursuant to its article 33.

The Convention contains 38 articles which are divided into eight parts: I. Definition of the Cultural and Natural Heritage; II. National Protection and International Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage; III. Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; IV. Fund for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; V. Conditions and Arrangements for International Assistance; VI. Educational Programmes; VII. Reports; and VIII. Final Clauses.

India and World Heritage Convention:

India formally signed the Convention on November 14, 1977.

India has been a member of the World Heritage Committee thrice before (1985-91, 2001-07& 2011-15) and is serving a fourth term (2021-25). India was playing an active role to promote ideals and objectives of World Heritage Convention. India was also the Vice-Chair of the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee (2015) held in Bonn, Germany. India has also conducted international workshops on Historic Urban Landscape (2011) and Visual Integrity (2013) to enhance the understanding of the Convention and the Operational Guidelines among different stakeholders. UNESCO Category 2 Centre on World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun has been established in the year 2013. 

International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS):

In 1982, ICOMOS established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS), followed by UNESCO adoption during its 22nd General Conference. Each year, ICOMOS proposes a theme for activities to be organised by its members and partners - and anyone who wants to join in marking the Day.

NOTE:

In 1982, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) announced 18 April as World Heritage Day. This was approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983, to enhance awareness about the importance of cultural heritage, and monuments and conserving them. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has a total of 1,154 monuments designated as world heritage sites from all over the world. Apart from India only Italy, Spain, Germany, China and France have 40 or more World Heritage sites. 

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two (1954 and 1999) Protocols: 

Through history, armed conflicts always wrought havoc on the lives of people. In addition to its humanitarian toll, conflicts also led to the large-scale destruction of cultural heritage, weakening the foundations of communities, lasting peace and prospects of reconciliation.

Considering that the preservation of cultural heritage is of great importance for all peoples of the world and thus needs universal protection, the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted in 1954 under the auspices of UNESCO. Now widely referred as the 1954 Hague Convention, is the first and the most comprehensive multilateral treaty dedicated exclusively to the protection of cultural heritage in times of peace as well as during an armed conflict.

The 1954 Hague Convention aims to protect cultural property, such as monuments of architecture, art or history, 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.

Obligations

The commitments made by the States Parties to the Convention serve to preserve cultural heritage through the implementation of the following measures:

  1. Adopting preventive measures such as preparing inventories, planning emergency measures to protect property against the risk of fire or the collapse of buildings, and preparing the removal of cultural property to places of safety.
  2. Developing initiatives which guarantee respect for cultural property situated on their own territory or on the territory of other States Parties. This involves refraining from using such property in any manner that might expose it to destruction or deterioration in the event of armed conflict, and by refraining from all acts of hostility directed against it.
  3. Registering cultural property of very high importance on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection in order to obtain special protection for such property;
  4. Marking certain important buildings and monuments with a distinctive emblem of the Convention;
  5. Providing a place for eventual refuge to shelter movable cultural property;
  6. Establishing special units within the military forces responsible for the protection of cultural property;
  7. Setting sanctions for breaches of the Convention; and,
  8. Promoting the Convention among the general public and through target groups such as cultural heritage professionals, and military or law-enforcement agencies.
The Convention entered into force on 7 August 1956, in accordance with Article 33.
India ratified the convention in  16 June 1958

  1. https://whc.unesco.org/en
  2. PIB - 1, PIB - 2
  3. ICOMOS
  4. UN
  5. https://en.unesco.org/protecting-heritage/convention-and-protocols/1954-convention

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