Training course on the 1954 Hague Convention “On the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict” launched

On the order of the Ministry of Culture, with the support of the Federation of Creative Industries of Azerbaijan, the next training course was launched within the framework of the “Heritage Governance Skills Development” training program by “Global Communications and Innovations” company. The topic of the 2nd training course within the program is dedicated to the 1954 Hague Convention “On the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict”.

The opening of the training course was made by Vasif Eyvazzade, Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation, the head of the training program, who gave information about the dates of Azerbaijan’s accession to the mentioned Convention and its additional protocols, examples and property of cultural heritage destroyed during the occupation of our territories by Armenia. He also noted that in 2021, Azerbaijan was elected a member of UNESCO’s Committee for the Protection of Cultural Resources during Armed Conflict for a four-year term. In his speech, V. Eyvazzade reported that in 2016, with the support of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the San Remo Institute of International Humanitarian Law prepared a Military Manual document on the protection of cultural resources during armed conflict, which is an aid to the implementation of the Convention. The trainer, Senior Lecturer in Law at University of Essex, PhD in Law Dr. Marina Lostal was presented.

Dr. Marina Lostal introduced herself and gave information about the training plan, topics and methodology for the next 3 days. She first talked about the protection of cultural property in the historical context, noted international normative documents adopted over the years, as well as important conventions. She talked about the examples of national cultural heritage in the local context, mainly the damage of cultural property objects and the response measures practices applied in the international tribunals in the legal context. The training course, conducted with interactive methods, continued with practical case studies and question-and-answer quizzes.

The training course is attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Defense, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Culture, the State Tourism Agency, the State Urban Planning and Architecture Committee, the Special Delegation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the liberated territories included in the Karabakh Economic Region, the State Reserve Department of the city of “Shusha”, Representatives of Mine Actions Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Administration of State Historical-Architectural Reserve “Icherisheher”, relevant institutes of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, University of Architecture and Construction and ADA University.