A/71/317 21. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern that many States have not adhered to these standards, in particular the Second Protocol, to which there are only 68 parties. However, she was pleased to learn of the commitment that has been made for the first time by a permanent member of the Security Council, namely, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to ratify the Second Protocol (and implement it in this case through the Cultural P roperty (Armed Conflicts) Bill), and looks forward to the achievement of that important step. She calls upon all permanent members of the Council to follow suit in the next two years so as to demonstrate collective leadership on this critical issue. 22. Moreover, States have not always enacted adequate implementing legislation to fulfil their obligations under the treaties that they have ratified, for example, with respect to prosecuting or imposing penal or disciplinary sanctions upon those responsible for attacks against cultural heritage. Yet, “the proper national implementation of the Hague Convention is a condicio sine qua non for the effective respect for cultural property in the event of armed conflict ”. 9 23. The Special Rapporteur recalls that many provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention rise to the level of customary international law, 10 binding both States not party to the Convention and non-State actors. She concurs with experts that “the prohibition of acts of deliberate destruction of cultural heritage of major value for humanity” rises to the level of customary international law and is a norm which is supported by “a general opinio juris”. 11 24. In the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, adopted in 2003, the international community reaffirms its commitment to fight against the intentional destruction of cultural heritage in any form so that it may be transmitted to the succeeding generations. States are unequivocally instructed to prevent, avoid, stop and suppress intentional destruction, wherever such heritage is located. 25. Importantly, many provisions of international law relate to the role of non-State actors, such as article 19 of the 1954 Hague Convention, which applies to non-international conflicts, as well as article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and article 16 of Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. The last-mentioned prohibits any acts of hostility directed against historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples, and applie s to both State and non-State actors within the context of non-international armed conflicts. The Special Rapporteur believes that attention must also be paid to robust use of these standards — and developing other strategies — for holding non-State actors to account and preventing their engagement in destruction. __________________ 9 10 11 8/24 Jan Hladik, “The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict: some observations on the implementation at the national level ”, MUSEUM International, No. 228: Protection and Restitution (vol. 57, No. 4 (December 2005)), sect. IV, p. 7. Francesco Francioni and Federico Lanzerini, “The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan and international law”, European Journal of International Law, vol. 14, No. 44 (2003), p. 619. Ibid., p. 635. 16-13742