Enhanced Protection: Cultural Property of Highest Importance to Humanity

“Enhanced protection” is a mechanism established by the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Its main purpose is to ensure full and effective protection of cultural property during international or non-international armed conflicts.

Advantages

Cultural property inscribed on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection benefits from high level immunity from military attacks as well as threats of making it a military target. Criminal sanctions may apply in cases where individuals do not respect the enhanced protection granted to a cultural property.

How to apply

The Secretariat of the 1954 Hague Convention encourages all States Parties to the 1999 Second Protocol to submit to the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict requests for granting of enhanced protection to cultural property of the highest importance to humanity. The Committee, which establishes and maintains the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection, considers requests and decides whether to inscribe the cultural property on the List. Requests must be received by the Secretariat on or before 1 March of each year at the latest in order to be considered at the upcoming meeting of the Committee.

To facilitate the granting of enhanced protection, States Parties to the 1999 Second Protocol should complete the Enhanced Protection Request Form and submit it through their respective Permanent Delegation to the Committee.

This distinctive emblem was established to mark and to facilitate the recognition and identification of cultural property under enhanced protection, particularly during the conduct of hostilities.

It ensures the effectiveness of the provisions of the 1999 Second Protocol and, more particularly, the “immunity of cultural property under enhanced protection” (Article 12 of the 1999 Second Protocol). This emblem will be installed on the cultural property which is inscribed on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.

Eligibility for Enhanced Protection

Any cultural property as defined in Article 1 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is eligible for enhanced protection, provided that it meets the three following conditions:

1. The cultural property must be of the greatest importance for humanity;
2. The cultural property must beprotected by adequate domestic legal and administrative measures recognizing its exceptional cultural and historic value and ensuring the highest level of protection;
3. The cultural property must not be used for military purposes or to shield military sites.