Philippe Sutter 🇲🇫 🇪🇺
3.9K posts
@philippesutter4
Représentant permanent adjoint de la France auprès de l'UNESCO. Ex Consul Général @ConsulatFRAVan, @franceonu @RPFranceUE Directeur Institut français d'Autriche
UNESCO reiterates its deep concern over the protection of education, culture, media and the environment amid the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and beyond. Since the outbreak of hostilities on 28 February, several sites of cultural significance, including the Golestan Palace (Iran), the White City of Tel-Aviv (Israel), and Tyre (Lebanon) all inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, have been reported as impacted and damaged, as the escalation continues to cause immense human suffering, displacement, and numerous fatalities and casualties across the region. Several sites in other countries of the region and beyond are now under threat, notably in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Education personnel, students and infrastructures, as well as media and science facilities, are increasingly exposed to the consequences of the deteriorating security situation in parts of the region. The continuation of hostilities raises serious concerns regarding the functioning of education systems, the safety of learning environments, the access to information, and the preservation of spaces dedicated to knowledge and scientific cooperation. Environmental sites and fragile ecosystems also face heightened vulnerability as tensions and military activities intensify. UNESCO calls for maximum restraint and to take all necessary measures to spare education, culture, media, sciences and the environment as the social foundations of societies. UNESCO has communicated and will continue to communicate to all parties concerned the geographical coordinates of sites on the World Heritage List, the national Tentative Lists, as well as those under Enhanced Protection, to take all feasible precautions to avoid damage. UNESCO recalls all parties of their obligations to respect international law, notably the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, as well as the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. In accordance with its mandate and with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1738 (2006), 2222 (2015), 2601 (2021), UNESCO further recalls the obligations of all parties to protect schools, students and education personnel, as well as journalists, media professionals and associated personnel.
