The UK has at last committed itself to ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.   More than 115 countries are party to the agreement, including all United Nations Security Council members, except for the UK. The Culture Secretary John Whittingdale says destruction and looting in Syria and Iraq by Islamic State militants shows it is now essential. However, a previous undertaking in 2004 to “ratify when time allowed” never materialised and the government has given no indication of the timeframe within which ratification will now occur.