Given the many atrocities that are being committed in Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, it is perhaps timely to explore the international legal rules around the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict. While the human costs of this war are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, it nevertheless remains important to gain a better understanding of the terrible destruction and damage also being caused to religious establishments, historical monuments and cultural institutions such as theatres and museums. This webinar is an attempt to set out the rules and practices of war in relation to the protection of cultural property against the backdrop of this tragic and ongoing conflict.

The speakers at the event are:

• Kevin Chamberlain CMG, former deputy legal adviser, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and author of War and Cultural Heritage (2nd edn, IAL, 2013)
• Professor Peter Stone OBE, President of Blue Shield International and UNESCO Chair of Cultural Property Protection and Peace, Newcastle University
• Kristin Hausler, Director of the Centre for International Law and Dorset Senior Fellow, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
• Irina Tarsis, Founder and Managing Director, Center for Art Law
• Kateryna Busol, International Lawyer and Academy Associate, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House

The panel will cover a range of areas including: the respect owed to cultural property under the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (the ‘Hague Convention’) and its two Protocols, as well as other aspects of international humanitarian law, past practices of protecting cultural and religious sites during war and the situation on the ground in Ukraine.

Date and time: 6 May 2022, from 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm (UK time), via Zoom)

Cost: £36.00 (including UK VAT). All proceeds from this event will be donated to the British Red Cross – Ukraine Crisis Appeal

THIS EVENT HAS FINISHED

For a short blog post written early during the conflict and providing an overview of some of the issues that will be discussed during the seminar see Alexander Herman’s Russian invasion of Ukraine and the international protection of cultural heritage from 3 March and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law’s ‘How does international law protect Ukrainian cultural heritage in war?‘ (co-authored by one of the seminar speakers Kristin Hausler).