Blue Shield
Lar Joye,
5th November 2015.
1.
Introduction.
2.
Types of Disasters.
3.
What is Blue Shield?
4.
Establishment of Blue Shield
5.
Blue Shield Internationally.
6.
Irish Committee of the Blue
Shield
7.
1954 Hague Convention
8.
Training
9.
Future Plans
Natural
Disasters
1.
Tsumnai, 2004
2.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005.
3.
Haiti Earthquake, 2010.
4.
Japan 2011.
5.
Philippines, 2013
6.
Danube Flooding, 2013.
7.
Nepal earthquake.
Fire.
1.
York Cathedral Fire, 1984
2.
Trinity College Fire, July 1984
3.
Longford Cathedral, 2008.
4.
Cologne Archives Collapse, 2009.
5.
Fire in Archives in Sarajevo, 2013,
6.
Nationals Trusts Clandon Park, Surrey.
War
1.
Bosnia
2.
9/11
3.
Invasion of Iraq, 2004
4.
Libya, 2011.
5.
Mali.
6.
Syria and Iraq 2014.
7.
Tunisia, 2015.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/isisfighters-destroy-ancient-artefacts-mosul-museumiraq
The Red Cross for Culture
What is the Blue Shield?
The cultural equivalent of the Red Cross.
Like the Red Cross, Blue Shield is an international organisation
supported by national committees. There are three minor but
important differences:
The Red Cross has had some 150 years to establish a world-wide
reputation – the Blue Shield is almost unknown.
The Red Cross has a multi-million euro budget - the Blue Shield has
no income at all.
The Red Cross has a paid staff of thousands - the Blue Shield has no
paid staff.
What is the Blue Shield?
The Blue Shield aims to protect cultural and heritage sites from
attack in times of armed conflict or civil disturbance, and from natural
disasters.
It also aims to promote awareness of the importance
of preserving heritage sites
and their contents in peacetime and during conflict.
The basis for the Blue Shield is the 1954 Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property and its additional first and second
protocols.
1954 Hague Convention.
• Recognized WWI & WWII damage
and looting of cultural property.
• First international treaty focused
exclusively on protecting cultural
property during armed conflict.
• 126 States Parties have signed the
convention.
World War I
Leuven Library, 1914.
World War II
Dresden.
Establishment of Blue Shield
In order to protect endangered cultural heritage,
the International Committee of the Blue Shield
was created in 1996 by five nongovernmental
organisations.
, and museums.
and sites
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ICA (The International Council of Archives)
www.ica.org
ICOM (The International Council of Museums)
www.icom.museum
ICOMOS (The International Council on Monuments
and Sites) www.icomos.org
IFLA (The International Federation of Library
Associations)
CCAAA (The Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual
Archives Associations) www.ccaaa.org
Mostar’s Old Bridge, Bosnia
Herzogovina rebuilt after being
destroyed in 1993
Blue Shield Internationally
Blue Shield International consist of the following
organisations:
(1.)
Blue Shield International.
(2.)
Registered committees.
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Benin
Chile
Curacao
Czech Republic
Denmark
Georgia
France
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Macedonia
Madagascar
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Romania.
Senegal.
Spain.
UK.
United States.
Umayyad Mosque
Aleppo, Syria 2013
Blue Shield Internationally
French Committee
Have 250 members and a annual budget of
E103,000
Divided into 5 sections and work very closely
with the Red Cross.
Produce Disaster manuals and have a GIS
project providing data on culture sites in France
and nearby hazards.
Blue Shield Internationally
US Committee
Started in light of events in Iraq in 2003.
Works closely the US military.
Trying to ratify the 2nd Protocol of the Hague
Convention, not passed in 2009.
Responded to the Haiti earthquake in 2010 in
partnership with the Smithsonian Museum.
Worked on a “do not target list of sites in Libya
and now Ukraine.
Offices provided by the Smithsonian Museum.
US Committee in
Haiti in 2010.
Blue Shield Internationally
Austrian Committee.
Austria has always taken the Hague Convention
very seriously
Their army has created policies on protecting
their historical sites and collections since 1950’s
Karl Von Hasburg former MEP and fighter pilot is
involved with the committee.
Now involved in working with the army in Mali.
Blue Shield International
Objectives are:
to facilitate international responses to threats or emergencies
threatening cultural property;
to encourage safeguarding and respect for cultural property
especially by promoting risk preparedness;
to train experts at national and regional level to prevent,
control and recover from disasters;
to act in an advisory capacity for the protection of
Endangered heritage;
to consult and co-operate with other bodies including UNESCO,
ICCROM and International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC).
Archives in
Sarajevo, 2013.
Blue Shield International
It achieves this by:
collecting and sharing information on threats to cultural
property world-wide raising public Awareness about
damage to cultural heritage
promoting good standards of risk management among
those responsible for cultural heritage at all levels, from
institutions to national governments
working to make decision makers and professional
staffs aware of the need to develop prevention,
preparedness, response and recovery measures
providing professional expertise to help meet
emergencies
Archives in Sarajevo,
2013.
To Learn More
INCBS
The UKIRB (UK & Ireland Blue Shield)
Committee was inaugurated on 13 March
2001.
The UKIRB was located within the National
Preservation Office based at the British
Library.
However, it became clear that it would be
more appropriate to have a separate Irish
Blue Shield grouping
The fact was that the UKIRB Committee
operated within two separate jurisdictions
with quite distinct differences in terms of
international engagement.
Aftermath of Looting of
Baghdad Museum 2003
INCBS
The Irish committee was reconstituted in
2010 under the chairmanship of Dr Michael
Ryan, then Director of the Chester Beatty
Library.
In September 2012 the Irish Committee of
the Blue Shield was officially recognised as a
National Committee by the International
Committee of the Blue Shield
Mosul museum attack.
INCBS
The INCBS consists of representatives from organisations representing
cultural institutions within Ireland including libraries, museums, national
monuments and archives.
International Council of Museums (ICOM-Ireland):
•
Lar Joye and vacant position
CCAAA (The Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations)
•
Kas O’Connell
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS),
•
Deirdre McDermott and vacant position
International Council of Archives (ICA)
•
Helen Hewson
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA).
•
Siobhan Fitzpatrick and Colette O’Flaherty
The Committee
INCBS Mission
The mission of the INCBS is:
To promote the principles of the 1954 Hague Convention and
1999 Protocol in respect of the protection of cultural property
n times of armed conflict and to work with others to complete
its ratification of the Hague Convention by ratifying the
protocol on the protection of the cultural heritage in time of
war.
To act as a unifying voice for engaging government and
funders to understand and accept their responsibilities for
protecting long term access to the cultural heritage.
To develop plans to enable the INCBS to contribute to
National and international efforts to protect the cultural
heritage in times of war and natural disasters by means of
Organising voluntary workers where possible, by programmes
of education, fundraising, training and such other actions as
the INCBS shall approve after careful consideration.
Blue Shield volunteers at
site of Cologne Archives
collapse 2009
What is the 1954 Hague Convention?
1938 Draft Convention
1949 Geneva Conventions
1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict & Protocol
1977 Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions
1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention
International Humanitarian Law
Hague Convention is part of International Humanitarian Law,
formerly known as the Law of War, which is a branch of
international law
IHL seeks to strike a balance between military necessity and the
interests of humanity by regulating the conduct of armed conflict
IHL places limits on the means and methods of warfare in the
interests of humanity
Developed greatly since the 1st Geneva Convention in 1864.
Basic rule of IHL is that only combatants and military targets
can be the object of attack – civilians, prisoners of war, the sick
and wounded, and civilian objects are protected
Cultural property is a civilian object unless used for military
purposes, which is generally prohibited
1954 Hague Convention
UNESCO Conference on the Protection the event of
Armed Conflict,
The Hague 21 April – 14 May 1954.
Ireland represented by:
Ambassador Josephine McNeill
Lt Col Harrington
Dr Patrick Henchy, National Library. ( 1967-76)
Warka Mask stolen from
National Museum in Iraq
and recovered
Who signed up?
Ireland signed the Convention upon adoption in 1954
126 States have ratified or acceded to the
Convention.
Renewed interest in the early 1990s and again
after adoption of 1999 Protocol.
Denmark (2003) Japan (2007) New Zealand
(2008) United States (2009).
Still not parties – Ireland and the UK
1954 Hague Convention
• This the Symbol of the 1954
Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in
the Event of Armed Conflict
• Used to mark cultural property
for protection during armed
conflict in Austria.
Obligations under the Convention
Safeguard and respect Cultural Property.
In time of peace make preparations to safeguard Cultural
Property against foreseeable effects of armed conflict.
Not use Cultural Property for purposes likely to expose it
to destruction or damage during armed conflict.
Refrain from any hostile act against Cultural Property –
except in cases of imperative military necessity.
Prohibit, prevent and stop theft and pillage of Cultural
Property
Importantly Convention requires States to make violation of the
Convention a Criminal offence in their laws
Special Protections.
States can nominate for Special Protection:
Refuges to shelter movable Cultural Property and
Monumental Centres and other immovable cultural property
of very great importance
Conditions apply:
Must be located away from any important military objective
Must not be used for military purposes
Must be registered with UNESCO
States obliged not to direct ‘any act of hostility’ against
Cultural Property under Special Protection.
Weakness of the Convention.
Obligations to protect Cultural Property could be waived in
cases of ‘imperative military necessity’
Special Protection requires prior registration on the
International Register of Cultural Property under Special
Protection to which any other State may object
Only 5 States ever requested Special Protection
Vatican City Austria, the Netherlands and Germany
During Cold War growing sense that Cultural Property could
not be protected from intercontinental ballistic missiles m
Growing sense that law needed to be updated – particularly in
light of Iran-Iraq, Balkan and Afghan Wars
This led to the 1999 Protocol.
The Situation Today.
It is hoped that Ireland will ratify the Convention
before 2018.
Legislative and administrative measures necessary
Create specific criminal offences:
Attacking cultural property under EP
Using cultural property under EP in support of
military action
Extensive destruction or appropriate of cultural
property
Theft, pillage, misappropriation, vandalism
Jurisdiction, extradition, mutual legal assistance
Military training and doctrine.
Preparatory measures and emergency planning.
Training with ICCROM.
ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization
dedicated to the conservation of cultural
heritage.
Organises First Aid to Cultural Heritage in
times of Crisis course.
So far over 100 conservators and museum,
library and archive professionals have completed
the course.
http://www.iccrom.org/news/
“Prepare to Protect”.
Seminar 'Prepare to Protect' was held on 22 October in Collins Barracks, Dublin.
Karl von Habsurg
Corrie Wegener
Blue Shield
US Blue Shield
Mark Adamson, Flood Risk Assessment and Management: Protecting our Heritage
Susie Bioletti, Knowing the Collection, Managing all the Risks
Dobbin, Keely, Fire Service: Pre-Incident Planning & Fire Service Liaison / Role –
Lesley-Ann Hayden, MSPI - Putting the Basics in Place
Patrizia La Piscopia, First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis
O'Doherty, Leonard, McMullan, Emergency Management in Ireland
Zoë Reid, National Disaster Response Scheme
Declan Smyth, 1954 Hague Convention and Protocols
http://www.icomos.ie/index.php/blue-shield/activities
Future Plans
Plans for 2014-16.
Short seminar to commemorate the International Day of
Sites and Monuments with ICOMOS Ireland, Customs
House Dublin in April 2014
Attending the Extraordinary General Assembly of Blue
Shield in American University in Rome , May 2014.
A one day seminar on protecting heritage in times of
emergency on October 22 2014 at the National Museum,
Collins Barracks.
Implementing our mission by 2018.
Ongoing meetings with Irish Defence Forces, Foreign
Affairs and other bodies.
Organise a training course with ICCROM and the heritage
Council in early 2016.
For more information go to:
For more information go to:
http://www.ancbs.org/cms/en/
http://www.icomos.ie/index.php/blue-shield/objectives
https://www.facebook.com/irishblueshield
Contact Details
Lar Joye,
E-mail [email protected]