Page 53 - karabag raporu eng

On-Site Investigation Report on Human Rights in Karabakh

tection of cultural property in times of war. In the Hague Conventions of 1899
and 1907, it was stated that in conflicts, it is necessary to protect buildings
and historical artefacts belonging to worship, fine arts, sciences, and charita-
ble purposes, and it was regulated that the properties belonging to the build-
ings mentioned, even if they belong to the State, should be treated as private
property; all kinds of seizure, destruction, and damage of similar institutions,
historical works of art, and buildings dedicated to science were forbidden.

It is seen that there are general regulations on the subject in Additional Pro-
tocols No. I and II of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which ensure
the evolution of the rules of conflict from the law of war to humanitarian law.
Article 53 of the Additional Protocol No. I of 1977 is about the “protection
of cultural objects and of places of worship”, and it is prohibited to commit
any acts of hostility directed against the historic monuments, works of art,
or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of
peoples, to use such objects in support of the military effort, and to make
such objects the object of reprisals. Article 85 of the same protocol states
that causing destruction to historical monuments, works of art, and places of
worship will be considered a serious war crime.

In Article 16 of the Additional Protocol No. II, it is prohibited to commit any
acts of hostility directed against historic monuments, works of art, or places
of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples, and
to use them in support of the military effort, without prejudice to the provi-
sions of the Hague Convention of 1954.

The definition of cultural property was made in the first article of the Hague
Convention of 1954, and accordingly, the cultural property shall cover:
a) Movable or immovable property of great importance to the cultural
heritage of every people, such as monuments of architecture, art or
history, whether religious or secular; archaeological sites; groups of
buildings which, as a whole, are of historical or artistic interest; works
of art; manuscripts, books and other objects of artistic, historical or
archaeological interest; as well as scientific collections and important
collections of books or archives or of reproductions of the property
defined above;
b) Buildings whose main and effective purpose is to preserve or exhibit
the movable cultural property defined in sub-paragraph (a) such as
museums, large libraries and depositories of archives, and refuges in-
tended to shelter, in the event of armed conflict, the movable cultural
property defined in sub-paragraph (a);

51