Conference. Heritage and cultural property as a matter of international security and human rights

This communication examines the increasingly close links between the protection of cultural heritage, national and international security, and human rights in a global context marked by the rise in attacks on archaeological sites, looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property, and the destruction of historical and religious symbols during armed conflicts and political crises. Cultural heritage today constitutes a space where collective memory, identity, a sense of belonging, and social stability converge, giving its protection a scope that extends far beyond the purely cultural dimension to encompass legal, security, and human rights issues. 

The reflection revolves around the following problem: how has the protection of cultural heritage shifted from being an area essentially dedicated to cultural conservation to becoming a matter related to international security and human rights? What are the limitations of the current international approach to the intentional destruction of heritage, the illicit trafficking of cultural property, and the marginalization of intangible cultural heritage linked to the memory of communities and their cultural rights? 

Cultural heritage is an essential element for building peace, strengthening intercultural dialogue and protecting human dignity in an era marked by the intensification of risks associated with conflict, extremism, illicit trafficking and cultural exclusion.