Hague Convention of 1954

The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is an international treaty that requires its signatories to protect cultural property in war. It was signed at The Hague, Netherlands, on May 14, 1954, and entered into force August 7, 1956. As of February 2014, it has been ratified by 126 states.

The convention defines a protective sign to facilitate the identification of protected cultural property during an armed conflict. A triple use of that sign is also possible to mark exceptionally important cultural property under special protection.

Following the Second World War, UNESCO adopted the Hague Convention (1954) which created rules to protect cultural goods during armed conflicts. This Convention was the first international treaty aimed at protecting cultural heritage in the context of war, and which highlighted the concept of common heritage and led to the creation of the International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), whose Director General is currently Mr Julien Anfruns from the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The Hague Convention as such, is the oldest international treaty where at its core, is intended to deal exclusively with the protection of cultural heritage. Two protocols to the convention were concluded. The first protocol was introduced in May 14, 1954, and came into force August 7, 1956, while the second protocol was introduced March 26, 1999, and came in force March 9, 2004. Under the Hague Convention, immovable and moveable cultural property “including monuments of architecture, art, archaeological sites, manuscripts, books and other objects of artistic, historical or archaeological interest” are protected to ensure the cultural legacy and by extension the cultural property of, nations, groups and distinct members of a society worldwide, facing armed conflict.