TEHRAN--Wars destroy not only people but also culture, historical memory, and identity of nations, and in the meantime, the “Blue Shield” can be a kind of shield against the cultural heritage of any country.

According to Mehr news agency, the destruction of cultural heritage during armed conflict goes beyond physical damage to buildings and objects. This action directly affects the identity, dignity and spirit of a society.

Wars not only kill people, they also destroy culture, historical memory, and the identity of nations. In the midst of armed crises, it is this “Blue Shield” that protects cultural heritage from destruction.

But Iran, with dozens of World Heritage sites and thousands of national monuments, has not yet been placed under this shield as it should be, even though its committee was formed in Iran a few years ago.

The Blue Shield network, often referred to as the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross, was formed in response to the changes in international law and today works globally to protect cultural heritage in emergency situations. “We are a non-governmental, non-profit, international organization committed to the protection of heritage across the world.”

This reportedly includes museums, monuments, archaeological sites, archives, libraries and audio-visual material, and significant natural areas, as well as intangible heritage. 

The work of the Blue Shield is underpinned by international law – in particular, the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols of 1954 and 1999, which are considered to be part of international humanitarian law (IHL). 

Was Blue Shield used in Iran during the Zionist regime’s 12-day war on Iran?  

Mohammad-Hassan Talebian, the deputy head of former cultural heritage department, took part in a ceremony for formation of the Blue Shield Committee working group attended by Austrian ambassador,  President of International Committee of Blue Shield Karl Habsburg, deputy minister of cultural heritage,  members of INTERPOL, and held in Sa’dabad Palace in Tehran in 2019,  gave news of plans to launch secretariat of Blue Shield Committee in Iran and said: “We hope to launch the first regional workshop as soon as possible.”

Habsburg had said during that gathering: “In international armed conflicts, the destruction of the infrastructure of the opposing side was the goal, but today, modern conflicts are aimed at destroying the identity of the opposing side. When the destruction of identity becomes the goal, cultural heritage and historical monuments are targeted and destroyed. Therefore, we must make our efforts to protect cultural heritage as much as possible. Most of these tasks are the responsibility of the International Blue Shield Committee.”

One year later, the deputy head of former Cultural Heritage Department announced the coordination and follow-up of the compilation of the statute of the National Committee for the Blue Shield of Iran through teamwork between governmental and non-governmental institutions and inter-sectoral cooperation. 

Abdolmehdi Hemmatpour, a cultural heritage researcher, believes that International Blue Shield Committee which is subsidiary of UNESCO, seeks to finds ways and implement them for protecting the cultural heritages and historical monuments during the wars. 

If an unprecedented event occurs in Iran, for example Israeli attacks against Iran, International Blue Shield Committee can play a great role in preserving Iran’s historical monuments and help prevent the disaster against the country’s cultural heritage, he added.

He also said Islamic Republic of Iran is member of majority of conventions regarding preserving peace, cultural heritage, and environment and has had a good cooperation with such organizations and inked a memorandum of understanding for Iran’s membership in International Blue Shield Committee. Therefore, in these circumstances, it is necessary to form a National Association of the Water Shield Committee in order to implement the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, he pointed out.

Also, National Museum of Iran Director Jebrael Nokandeh said that Blue Shield has been installed in eight spots of the museum’s rooftop for declaring that there is museum and shouldn’t be destructed nor plundered. 

The Cultural Heritage Ministry has not declared whether it will install the Blue Shield symbol on other global heritages or not.

KD