Writing / Radio Panama
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) reported this week that it is working on damage assessment in all its spheres of competence (especially education, culture, heritage and information ), following the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory. This, in order to launch emergency support actions.
Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, called for the protection of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, which bears witness to the country’s rich history, and includes its seven World Heritage sites – in particular those located in Lviv and Kiev; the cities of Odessa and Kharkov, members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network; its national archives, some of which are listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register; and its sites that commemorate the tragedy of the Holocaust.
This is stated in a statement issued by UNESCO, after the adoption of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, in which Russia is required to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and end the war.
“We must safeguard this cultural heritage, as a testimony to the past but also as a vector of peace for the future, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations. To protect the future, educational institutions must also be considered sanctuaries,” said Azoulay.
According to this same declaration, UNESCO “demands the immediate cessation of attacks against civilian facilities, such as schools, universities, memorial sites and cultural and communication infrastructures, and deplores the civilian victims, including students, teachers, artists, scientists and journalists. ”.
In the field of education, Resolution 2601 adopted in 2021 by the UN Security Council establishes that UN member states must “prevent attacks and threats of attacks against schools, and guarantee the protection of schools and the civilian population linked to schools, such as children and teachers, during armed conflicts, as well as in post-conflict stages”.
Hence, UNESCO expressed its strong condemnation of the attacks on educational facilities, which have damaged at least seven institutions in the last week, including the March 2 attack on the Karazin National University in Kharkov.
“The closure of schools and educational facilities throughout the country has affected the entire school-age population: 6 million students between the ages of 3 and 17, and more than 1.5 million enrolled in institutions of higher learning,” he said.
In the field of culture, UNESCO recalled the obligations imposed by international humanitarian law, in particular the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954 and its two Protocols (1954 and 1999), to refrain from inflicting damage to cultural property, and condemns all attacks and damage to cultural heritage in all its forms in Ukraine.
In turn, the organization stated that “it is seriously concerned” about the damage suffered in the city of Kharkov, UNESCO Creative City of Music, and the historic center of Chernihiv, included in the indicative list of World Heritage of Ukraine.
UNESCO also condemned the attack that affected the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial, the site of one of the largest mass executions of Jews during World War II, and called for the respect of historical sites, whose value for education and memory is “irreplaceable”.
To prevent the attacks, UNESCO, in coordination with the Ukrainian authorities, said it is working to mark major monuments and historical sites across Ukraine as soon as possible with the distinctive emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention, an internationally recognized sign. for the protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict.
In addition, UNESCO has contacted the Ukrainian authorities to organize a meeting with museum directors from all over the country to help them respond to the urgent needs of safeguarding museum collections and cultural property.
Since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, some 1.4 million refugees have already left Ukraine, according to UN figures.
