Conference to update Hague Convention

Hague conference marks advance for wartime protection of cultural
property.

The two week diplomatic conference to update the 1954 Hague
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict ended March 26. A press release from UNESCO dated
March 26, 1999 {No. 99-62} states that the main breakthroughs
adopted in the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention "concern
the setting up of an intergovernmental Committee to register
cultural property to be protected and to oversee the implementation
of the Convention and Protocol; the reinforcement of individual
criminal responsibility for violations of cultural property;
tightened definitions of obligations for international co-operation
in providing protection for cultural properties and the prosecution
of those guilty of violations."

The conference, which was organized by UNESCO and held in The Hague
(The Netherlands), brought together representatives from 74 of the
95 State Parties to the Convention, and observers. Among the later
were China, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The full press release can be found at:
<URL:http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/upanglo.htm>

Jean D. Portell
Brooklyn, N.Y.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:77
                 Distributed: Wednesday, March 31, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-77-001
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