A/71/317 I. Introduction 1. The present report, prepared by the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 28/9, is her first submission to the General Assembly since she began her work in November 2015. The report addresses the intentional destruction of cultural heritage, an issue explored in her first report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/31/59). 2. In an important cross-regional joint statement on cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage, delivered by the Permanent Representative of Cyprus at the thirty-first session of the Human Rights Council and supp orted by 146 States, the focus of the Special Rapporteur on the destruction of cultural heritage and its impact on cultural rights was welcomed and States were called upon “to offer their full support to the Special Rapporteur in undertaking … activities under her mandate”. 1 All acts of intentional destruction to cultural heritage occurring most commonly during, or in the aftermath of, armed conflicts around the world were condemned and alarm was expressed at their increasing frequency and scale. States called for specific action: a refraining from any military use or targeting of cultural property, in full respect of obligations under international humanitarian law; enhanced global cooperation in preventing and combating the looting, smuggling and illicit trafficking in cultural objects which violate or abuse cultural rights and which, in some current instances, generate funds for the financing of terrorism; cooperation in restoring looted or trafficked cultural properties to their place of origin; raising awareness of the relationships between cultural heritage and human rights and of the risks faced by defenders of cultural heritage; and enhanced cooperation among United Nations bodies to strengthen implementation of the international legal framework. 3. The Special Rapporteur engaged in consultations with experts in preparation for the writing of this report. She convened a meeting of experts on 13 and 14 June 2016 in Geneva, took part in a meeting of the Conflict Culture Research Network at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., on 24 June and participated in an expert meeting hosted by the UK Committee of the Blue Shield in London on 14 July. She also attended the fifteenth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May. Through participation in those meetings, she was able to interact with experts on and defenders of cultural heritage, States, current and former military personnel, civil society and humanitarian workers from many regions of the world. 4. The Special Rapporteur also called for contributions to this report and is gratified at having received 68 submissions, from States, academics, national human rights institutions and civil society within various regions of the world. These inputs have greatly enriched her work. 2 5. Recent highly visible and openly declared acts of intentional destruction of cultural heritage, spread across multiple regions of the world, require urgent response. In that regard, the Special Rapporteur was reminded by representatives of indigenous peoples that, unfortunately, many other acts of cultural heritage __________________ 1 2 16-13742 www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/CulturalRights/JointStatementCyprus21Mar2016.pdf. Submissions are available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/CulturalRights/Pages/ IntentionalDestruction.aspx. 3/24