A/HRC/37/55/Add.1 regard. The challenge before people in Serbia and Kosovo is for everyone to equally embrace the heritage of “the other”. 66. The Special Rapporteur is encouraged by the fact that she met people from all backgrounds who care deeply for cultural heritage, including that of others. They must overcome obstacles posed by the current situation to realize such views. For example, a Serb academic indicated that he would like to be able to take his students to visit monuments in Kosovo but was not sure that it would be possible given the political climate. Some Kosovo Albanians indicated that they felt unwelcome at Serbian Orthodox sites. Exchanges and visits must be organized and encouraged. 67. Some stressed to the Special Rapporteur the importance of adopting a regional approach to cultural heritage which would be inclusive, could transcend political limitations and promote interactions around heritage. Legacy and impact of “destructions”15 68. The UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage defines “intentional destruction” as “an act intended to destroy in whole or in part cultural heritage, thus compromising its integrity, in a manner which constitutes a violation of international law or an unjustifiable offence to the principles of humanity and dictates of public conscience”. The label of intentional destruction may also apply in cases of wilful neglect. 69. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights is not designed to protect culture and cultural heritage per se, but the conditions allowing all people without discrimination to access, participate in and contribute to cultural life in a continuously developing manner. These conditions are greatly jeopardized when cultural heritage is at risk or destroyed. Therefore, prima facie, destruction of cultural heritage must be considered as a violation of cultural rights.16 70. The histories of widespread destruction of cultural heritage in Serbia and Kosovo during and after the conflict of 1998/99 are appalling. Many accounts and statistics are available on the harm done to cultural heritage associated with either Serb or Kosovo Albanian sites.17 Religious sites and cemeteries, as well as entire villages, have reportedly been destroyed. However, the Special Rapporteur did not receive any encompassing local accounts of the overall destruction in Serbia and Kosovo acknowledging the harm done to sites associated with all parts of the population. A holistic approach is crucial. 71. There is also a need for mutual acknowledgment of the harm that has been done in the past by attacking heritage related to various groups and the suffering this has caused. Serbs and Kosovo Albanians must recognize that they have been both victims of the destruction of cultural heritage and its perpetrators, and transcend simplistic victim narratives which overlook the violations of the cultural rights and the suffering of others. 15 16 17 12 As in her previous report, the Special Rapporteur has used the term “destructions” in certain circumstances to underscore the multiplicity and diverse nature of the phenomenon. See A/71/317, para. 13. From a Serb perspective, see Branko V. Jokić and others, The March Pogrom 2004-2014: Ten Years Later, Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Government of the Republic of Serbia, 2014 (detailing destruction or damage to 35 heritage-listed Orthodox churches, burning of 800 Serb homes, killings of several dozen people and expulsions of thousands “as an orchestrated process of cultural engineering for which there has been impunity”). See also Ljubiša Folić, Crucified Kosovo: Desecrated and Destroyed Orthodox Serbian Churches and Monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija (June 1999-May 2001), 3rd ed., Serbian Orthodox Church, Diocese of Raška and Prizren, 2001 (alleging a “systematic strategy” of “annihilation of all traces” of Serb and Christian culture in Kosovo and Metohija along with the mass exodus of Serbs from the territory and detailing attacks against Serbian Orthodox religious sites, and listing several cases of murder of Orthodox clergy). From a Kosovo Albanian perspective, see Ditunia Islame, Serbian Barbarities Against Islamic Monuments in Kosova (February ’98-June ’99), 2000 (detailing “planned” destruction of Islamic monuments, including mosques and Islamic community councils, and killing of imams, alleged to be part of a “Serbian genocide” and “culturocide”).