At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict has just granted temporary enhanced protection to Babyn Yar, the site of one of the largest massacres of the ‘Holocaust by bullets’, and to the Odesa Literary Museum. This brings the number of cultural properties benefiting from this status in Ukraine to 27.
In times of war, international solidarity is crucial to protect threatened cultural heritage. This decision will make it possible to further strengthen the safety of these two Ukrainian cultural sites, including a major site for Holocaust remembrance.
The ‘National Historical Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar’ is the site of one of the largest massacres of the ‘Holocaust by bullets.’ On 29 and 30 September 1941, 33,771 Jews were murdered there by the Nazis. It has become a major site of remembrance and understanding of the Holocaust, which the international community has a responsibility to protect.
The ‘Odesa Literary Museum’ is a historic building that houses a renowned cultural, educational and research centre. It houses an important collection of books and publications dating back to the 19th century and hosts exhibitions and conferences. The museum, located within the ‘Historic Centre of Odesa’ inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage, is a pillar of the town's cultural life.
These two sites join 25 other Ukrainian cultural propertiesalready placed on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection in 2023.
Cultural property under the enhanced protection of UNESCO benefits from the highest level of immunity from attack and use for military purposes. Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute a ‘serious violation’ of the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention, opening the possibility of prosecution. This placement under enhanced protection also helps to alert the international community to the need to protect these cultural properties.
This initiative complements the many actions already taken by UNESCO to protect heritage and cultural life in Ukraine since the start of the war. Since February 2022, the Organization has mobilized more than $20 million to support cultural professionals and artists, secure historic buildings and museum collections, assess the damage, secure and rehabilitate damaged sites, and train police and judicial forces to combat illicit trafficking in works of art.
Main Image: Shutterstock// meunierd
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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