TEHERAN - The director of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) has emphasized the importance of safeguarding museums and historical sites during armed conflict, following recent damage to a UNESCO site in downtown Tehran.

Reza Dabirinejad, director of TMoCA, on Wednesday stated that international conventions require protection for cultural properties during wartime. He expressed hope that museums and historical artifacts would suffer minimal damage during any future conflict, ISNA reported. 

The 1954 Hague Convention and its supplementary provisions obligate nations to protect cultural property in the event of armed conflict, Dabirinejad underlined.  The convention, established after World War II, aimed to prevent the destruction or looting of cultural artifacts.

The convention legally prohibits the use of cultural property or its immediate surroundings for military purposes and any hostile actions against them, Dabirinejad explained. “This means museums, historical buildings, and art centers are not legally targets of military attacks unless utilized for military purposes.”

TMoCA houses over 3,000 items, including European and American paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as a significant collection of Iranian modern and contemporary art. 

AM