A/HRC/31/59 Social and Cultural Rights includes the obligation to respect and protect cultural heritage in all its forms and of all groups. 53. Numerous other international instruments protect cultural heritage. The member States of UNESCO have adopted, in addition to a number of declarations and recommendations, the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972); the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001); and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). The widespread support for the 1972 and 2003 conventions demonstrates the general agreement on the need to preserve and safeguard cultural heritage. Although these instruments do not necessarily take a human rights approach to cultural heritage, in recent years a shift has taken place from the preservation and safeguard of cultural heritage as such to the protection of cultural heritage as being of crucial value for human beings in relation to their cultural identity. 54. Because destruction of cultural heritage often results from armed conflict, whether as so-called collateral damage or due to deliberate targeting, a special protection regime governs its protection in times of conflict. The core standards include the Hague conventions of 1899 and 1907 and, most importantly, the 1954 Hague Convention and the 1954 and 1999 protocols thereto. 55. The 1954 Hague Convention, requires States parties to respect cultural property and to refrain from any act of hostility directed against it or any use of it likely to expose it to such acts, subject only to imperative military necessity (art. 4). In the future, the Special Rapporteur would like to explore the impact of the military necessity caveat on this provision, as experts have raised concerns about the scope of its application and its effects. 56. In addition, the Hague Convention obligates States to prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of, and any acts of vandalism directed against, cultural property (art. 4). They are to consider using refuges or safe havens for cultural property where relevant (art. 8). Another especially critical provision of this Convention is the requirement under article 3 that States prepare in peacetime for protection of heritage in conflict. In accordance with article 28, parties must prosecute and impose penal or disciplinary sanctions upon those persons, of whatever nationality, who commit or order to be committed a breach. The Second Protocol to this Convention strengthens this aspect, by requiring the codification of a criminal offence, including responsibility for higher command (art. 15 (2)). 57. In light of concerns about the ongoing attacks on cultural property following the entry into force of the Convention and the First Protocol, the Second Protocol was developed to enhance protection. It narrows the “military necessity” waiver such that it applies only when “no feasible alternative [is] available to obtain a similar military advantage” and imposes standards of proportionality to avoid or minimize collateral damage. 58. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern that many States have not adhered to these standards, in particular the Second Protocol, which only has 68 parties. Moreover, some experts suggest that even States that have done so may not have enacted adequate implementing legislation or fulfilled their obligations. For example, the Special Rapporteur was dismayed to learn from cultural heritage professionals that, despite the many examples of destruction of cultural heritage contrary to international treaties, there have reportedly not been any national prosecutions on the basis of the 1954 Convention. However, “the 13