Honorary and Goodwill Ambassadors of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, whilst gathered in Paris on 30 June and 1 July 2014 on the occasion of their annual meeting, have launched an appeal to protect culture considered as a driver of development and as a source of dialogue.
Concerned by the growing number of
deliberate attacks against cultural heritage, and facing the
instrumentalization of culture, oftentimes taken hostage and used as a
pretext for division and conflict;
Noting recently inflicted irreparable damage
to cultural heritage in Syria, Iraq, Mali, and in other places, as well
as actions aiming to prevent the transmission and perpetuation by the
communities of the intangible cultural heritage;
Convinced that damage to cultural property
belonging to any people whatsoever constitutes damage to the cultural
heritage of humanity, since each people makes its contribution to world
culture, as mentioned in the Hague Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, of which we celebrate
the 60th anniversary this year;
Recalling that cultural heritage in all its
forms is a fundamental component of the cultural identity of
communities, groups and individuals;
Considering that culture as such plays a
fundamental role in the development of all societies, both from an
economic point of view, because culture is a source of employment,
income and a way to fight against poverty but also from a social point
of view, because culture is a vector of cohesion, dignity and confidence
in the future;
Welcoming the efforts of UNESCO to safeguard
and rehabilitate destroyed and threatened cultural heritage worldwide,
as well as initiatives of the Director-General to mobilize the world
public opinion and policy makers around the culture;
Encouraging the Organization to continue its
efforts to ensure that the importance of culture in policies of
development and peace be better known, especially in the context of the
elaboration of the United Nations post-2015 development agenda;
Adopt and proclaim this Appeal:
Culture is the essence of humanity, it carries the values and identities of peoples;
We refuse that it is ignored or neglected, as is
still too often the case in public policies for development in times of
peace and during emergency actions in times of conflicts, where it is
considered sometimes as a luxury;
Faced with the violence of current conflicts, we
refuse the false rhetoric according to which in an emergency one must
choose between the protection of human life and the protection of
heritage, because the two are inseparable and protection of heritage in
the same way as the protection of schools and hospitals, is a part of
the categorical imperatives of international solidarity;
We affirm that the current forms of conflict show
that culture is at the heart of reconciliation, dialogue and
rapprochement. The protection of culture, and therefore the protection
of people’s identity, is at the heart of any sustainable effort to build
peace;
We affirm a fundamental link between culture,
protection of cultural heritage in all its forms - tangible and
intangible – as well as education for citizenship in a globalized world,
in multicultural societies where the understanding of the diversity of
cultures is more than ever an essential condition of the social
cohesion; where the transmission and understanding of cultural heritage
are essential elements for citizens in the 21st century;
We appeal to the Member States of UNESCO to redouble
their efforts and make all necessary arrangement so culture is
protected during times of peace and in times of conflict, and to see in
it a privileged mean to understand the current issues of sustainable
development, dialogue among cultures and religions as well as
peace-building;
We appeal that the Post-2015 international
development agenda clearly incorporates the role of culture and of
cultural diversity as accelerators and facilitators of sustainable
development, fully recognizing culture as our common source of
creativity, innovation and renewal, whereby humanity is constantly
reinventing, develop and build a better future.
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Source: unesco.org
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