Moldova to have extended access to UNESCO emergency funds for protection of heritage

The government has approved the accession to the Second Protocol of the 1954 Hague Convention, a document that strengthens international mechanisms for the protection of heritage in emergencies.

At the cabinet meeting, Minister of Culture Cristian Jardan said that Moldova had been a party to the Convention since 1999, when the first protocol was ratified, along with over ninety other states.

“Now, we are set to approve the second protocol. The document establishes clear procedures for risk prevention, protection of cultural goods and prevention of their use for inappropriate purposes,” the minister specified.

A major advantage of accession is access to the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund, a tool through which Moldova can benefit from financial support and technical expertise in critical situations.

“This fund can support, has already supported Moldova through quick interventions in emergencies,” Jardan emphasized.

According to the culture minister, through this step, the country strengthens its cooperation with UNESCO, member states and international organizations specialized in mobile cultural heritage protection.

The 1954 Hague Convention is the first international treaty dedicated exclusively to the protection of cultural property in cases of armed conflict. After the conflicts of the 1990s, the international community found that the initial system was no longer sufficient to prevent the deliberate destruction of heritage. Thus, in 1999, the Second Protocol was adopted, modernizing the Convention and introducing much stricter rules for protecting monuments, archaeological sites, museums, archives and other cultural assets of major importance.

The Second Protocol introduces enhanced protection for sites of exceptional importance, establishes the prohibition of using cultural assets on military purposes, obligates states to prevent attacks on them, and for the first time, provides criminal sanctions for serious violations, such as deliberate destruction or their use in military operations.

At the same time, the Protocol obligates states to take protective measures even in peacetime and creates an international committee that monitors the application of the rules and provides assistance to states.