A/71/317 Report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Summary In the present report, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights sets out a human rights approach, which she has developed, to the intentional destruction of cultural heritage, in conflict and non-conflict situations, by States and non-State actors. She examines the impact of such destruction on a range of human rights, including the right to take part in cultural life; calls for effective national and international strategies for preventing, and holding accountable those alleged to have taken part in, such destruction; and also calls for support for and protection of defenders of cultural heritage. Contents Page I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 II. The human rights meaning of “cultural heritage” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 III. The international legal framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 IV. Intentional destruction of cultural heritage: cultural warfare, “cultural cleansing” and other violations of cultural rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 A. Intentional destruction as a form of cultural warfare and cultural cleansing . . . . . . . . . . . 10 B. Intentional destruction in armed conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A human rights approach to the intentional destruction of cultural heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 A. The importance of a human rights approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 B. A human rights approach to cultural heritage in armed conflict or situations of occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Defenders of cultural heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Conclusions and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 V. C. VI. 2/24 16-13742