Abstract

The World Heritage programme and the law of armed conflict governing the protection of cultural property share the common principle of preserving the 'cultural heritage of mankind'. World Heritage sites are vulnerable to deliberate destruction in modern warfare, particularly during conflicts motivated by ethnic and religious animus. The vulnerability of World Heritage sites has been proven by a succession of deliberate attacks on World Heritage sites, beginning with the shelling of the Old City of Dubrovnik in 1991 and continuing through attacks on World Heritage sites in Syria and ...