Tehran – War destroys not only people but also culture, historical memory and national identity, while the “blue shield” becomes a kind of shield for any country’s cultural heritage.
According to Mehr’s press, the destruction of cultural heritage during armed conflict exceeds the physical damage to buildings and objects. This behavior directly affects society’s identity, dignity and spirit.
War not only kills people, it destroys culture, historical memories, and national identity. In an armed crisis, it is this “blue shield” that protects cultural heritage from destruction.
However, Iran has not yet been placed under this shield, with dozens of World Heritage Sites and thousands of national monuments, despite the committee being established decades ago.
The Blue Shield Network, often referred to as the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross, has been formed in response to changes in international law and today functions worldwide to protect the cultural heritage of emergencies. “We are a non-government, non-profit international organization committed to protecting heritage around the world.”
This includes museums, monuments, archaeological sites, archives, libraries, audiovisual materials, important natural areas, and intangible heritage.
Blue Shield’s work is supported by international law, particularly international law, the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property, 1954, which is considered part of armed conflict and the Two Protocols (IHL) of 1954 and 1999.
Was the blue shield used in Iran during the Iranian regime’s 12-day war with Iran?
Mohammad Hassan Talebian, former deputy director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, participated in the ceremony for the establishment of the Blue Shield Committee’s working group. He said Iran: “We want to start our first regional workshop as soon as possible.”
During the gathering, Habsburg said: “While the goal in international armed conflicts was to destroy the infrastructure on the other side, today modern conflicts aimed at destroying the identity of the other side. The Shield Committee.”
A year later, the former deputy director of the Department of Cultural Heritage announced the coordination and tracing of the compilation of the National Committee’s law for the Blue Shield of Iran through teamwork between government and non-governmental agencies and inter-sectoral cooperation.
Cultural Heritage researcher Abdolmehhdi Hemmatpour believes the International Blue Shield Committee, a subsidiary of UNESCO, is trying to find and implement ways to protect cultural heritage and historical monuments during the war.
If unprecedented events occur in Iran, such as an Israeli attack on Iran, for example, Iran, the International Blue Shield Committee can play a major role in maintaining Iran’s historic monuments and preventing disasters to the country’s cultural heritage, he added.
He also said that Iran’s Islamic Republic is a majority member of practices relating to peace, cultural heritage and environmental maintenance, and has worked well with such organizations, and was engraved in the memorandum of understanding on Iran’s membership of the International Blue Shield Committee. Therefore, he noted that in these circumstances it is necessary to form a National Water Shield Committee to implement the aforementioned memorandum.
Jebrael Nokandeh, director of the Iranian National Museum, also said that the Blue Shield has been installed in eight spots on the museum’s rooftop to declare that the museum is located and should not be destroyed or looted.
The Ministry of Cultural Heritage has not declared whether to install blue shield symbols on other global heritage sites.
KD