1954 Hague Convention: Blue Shield Emblems of Protection

In News

• UNESCO said that it had bolstered protective measures to preserve Ukraine’s endangered cultural heritage in light of Russia’s invasion.

1954 Hague Convention

• World War II: The 1954 Hague Convention was drawn up after the widespread devastation of cultural property in World War II.
• Together with its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999, it is the most widely recognised international treaty exclusively dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage in armed conflict.
• The treaty stipulates a number of measures that States and the armed forces should conduct during peacetime to prepare for conflict, and provides a regime for its protection during fighting.
  • Partnering with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the agency assesses damage by analyzing satellite imagery for priority sites which are endangered or already impacted.
• Article 1 of the Convention provides a (non-exhaustive) definition of the types of cultural property that are eligible for protection under the Convention provided that they are “of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people“.

Significance of the Convention

• The States that are party to the Convention benefit from the mutual commitment of more than 130 States who are committed to sparing cultural heritage from consequences of possible armed conflicts.
• States and their armed forces should implement a number of proactive safeguarding measures in peacetime to prepare for armed conflict.

Blue Shield Emblem

• The Hague Convention specifies an emblem the Blue Shield repeated three times in a triangular formation. The emblem is a protective symbol used during armed conflicts and its use is restricted by law.
  • When it was founded in 1996, the Blue Shield took up the emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention as its symbol, in line with Article 17 of the Convention.
• Ratification: The marking with the emblem of the Convention also comes from the fact that Russia and Ukraine are two countries to have ratified this important convention.

Properties involved

• UNESCO considers the Saint Sophia Cathedral in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and related monastic buildings a priority.

The Convention also has measures to be carried out during armed conflict which include

• Refraining from any use of the property and its immediate surroundings for purposes likely to expose it to destruction or damage, and refraining from any act of hostility directed against such property;
• Use of respect for the regimes of Special and Enhanced protection
• Sanctions for breaches of the Convention;
• Implementation of the protective regimes developed during peacetime if required, such as evacuation to refuges; and
• A regime for managing and enforcing the Convention during conflict (the Regulations of Control).

Source: IE