Cultural Heritage
Topic
"(…) parts of the cultural or natural heritage are of outstanding interest and therefore need to be preserved as part of the world heritage of mankind as a whole (…)" (Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972). Signatory states ratify the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) based on the conviction of preserving parts of cultural heritage as common heritage of humankind. Each signatories commits themselves to "(...) do all it can, to the utmost of its own resources and, where appropriate, with any international assistance and co-operation, in particular, financial, artistic, scientific and technical, which it may be able to obtain“ to protect and safeguard this heritage (article 4 of the World Heritage Convention).
Shortly after the end of World War II in 1954 the so called Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted together with the First Protocol and complemented by the Second Protocol in 1999 under the auspices of UNESCO. This convention safeguards museums, libraries, archives and other movable cultural goods, such like drawings, sculptures, books, archives etc. Until today it represents the most explicit rule how to deal with licit and illicit means and methods of warfare in armed conflicts. As a branch of international humanitarian law it is considered a fundamental part of military training, too. The signatories' notion is that "that damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, since each people makes its contribution to the culture of the world“.
Another cornerstone represents the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted on 16 November 1972 by the UNESCO General Conference. Signatories, among others the Federal Republic of Germany, are led by the consideration, that "that parts of the cultural or natural heritage are of outstanding interest and therefore need to be preserved as part of the world heritage of mankind as a whole“ (preamble). That is why it appeared to be necessary to adopt a new instrument in order to establish an effective system of collaboratively safeguarding both cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value, including a funds and a listing system that are deemed to preserve world heritage.
One of the more recent UNESCO conventions is the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage taken effect 2 January 2009 and being adopted by the 31st UNESCO General Conference in November 2001. This convention aims at fighting the proceeding devastation of cultural heritage in the oceans and has not yet been ratified by the Federal Republic of Germany. The contrary applies to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted in 2003 by the UNESCO General Conference. This convention taken effect 20 April 2006 aims at preserving "practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage“.
Research
The mandate of the UNESCO Chair according to the Agreement concerning the Establishment of a UNESCO Chair in International Relations at the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (25 March 2009) is directed to “expand research on the implementation of UNESCO conventions and normative instruments, in particular in the field (…) of cultural heritage (…), including dispute settlement” (article 2, 1st bullet point). Consequently, the emphasis of analysis is on the implementation of public international law created by UNESCO member states as well as recommendations, declarations and resolutions approved by the UNESCO General Conference.
From this normative perspective, over the last years, there has been considerably increasing awareness with regard to cultural goods worth preserving. Cultures are not closed entities, but constantly transforming and developing further, hence continuously generating new tangible and intangible forms of cultural expressions. That is why it is not only a matter of relating UNESCO conventions among each other, but also the question as to which categories are feasible to register heritage of mankind (world heritage) in the future by paying attention to the geographic, cultural, religious, tangible and intangible diversity in total. Experts are discussing in particular whether those criteria based on the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage are applicable for cataloguing the entire diversity of heritage, since they had primarily been developed for the tangible cultural heritage, such like sacred buildings, palaces and and castles, for instance. There may be need to complement this catalogue by further criteria.
According to estimates roughly sixty percent of all World Heritage Sites are situated in Europe and the United States of America. As a matter of fact these are mainly oriented towards preserving monuments and historic sites. The resulting research question would be whether the nomination procedure for the world heritage list should draw more attention to - beside tangible - intangible aspects of World Heritage Sites in the future. This would take individuals and their creativity more adequately into account. Proponents of this extended approach expect, inter alia, much more acceptance of World Heritage Sites throughout the residing local community as well as additional momentum towards sustainable, socio-economic developments of respective sites and societies.
It still remains undecided to which extent intangible heritage and the diversity of cultural expressions of dynamically changing cultures can be protected by legal means without compromising the ability of future generations of further cultural developments. The obstacle of musealization, meaning pure static preservation and traditions at the expense of its self-sustaining dynamic, is highly relevant. That is why safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, in particular, must strictly be on a level playing field with respecting and promoting thereof. Alternatively, implementing UNESCO conventions might harm the evolution of manifold ways of life, such like different styles of music, dance, art and their respective innovations, for instance.
Projects
since 12/2013: Cultural landscapes – Implications for tangible and intangible heritage
since 01/2012: The menace to cultural property in armed conflicts
06/2007–12/2009: Cultural Heritage Law and International Trade
Publications
Sabine von Schorlemer: Der internationale Schutz von Kulturgütern gegen Umwelteinflüsse. Vom kurativen zum präventiven Kulturgüterschutz, in: Thomas Oppermann; Lyndel Prott; Frank Fechner (Hrsg.), Prinzipien des Kulturgüterschutzes, Duncker & Humblot Verlag Berlin, 1996, S. 225-256
Sabine von Schorlemer: Stolen Art, in: German Yearbook of International Law / Jahrbuch für Internationales Recht, Vol. 41, 1998, S. 317-343
Sabine von Schorlemer: Legal Changes in the Regime of the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict, Art Antiquity and Law. Vol. IX, Issue 1, March 2004, S. 43-77
Sabine von Schorlemer: Die Dresdner Brücken-Posse, in: Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik 11/2006, S. 1312-1315
Sabine von Schorlemer: UNESCO Dispute Settlement, in: Abdulqawi A. Yusuf (Hrsg.), Standard-Setting in UNESCO, Vol. 1, Normative Action in Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO Publishing, Martinus Nijhoff), S. 73-103
Sabine von Schorlemer: UNESCO, Le règlement pacifique des differends, in: Abdulqawi A. Yusuf (Hsrg.), L'action normative à l'UNESCO: L'Elaboration de Règles Internationale sur l'Education, la Science et la Culture, S. 73-103 (UNESCO Publishing, Martinus Nijhoff), 2007
Sabine von Schorlemer: Die Vereinten Nationen und die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der Länder des Südens. in: Die Vereinten Nationen. Geschichte, Struktur und Perspektiven. Wilhelm Fink Verlag München, 2007
Sabine von Schorlemer: Compliance with the UNESCO World Heritage Convention: Reflections on the Elbe Valley and the Dresden Waldschlösschen Bridge, in: German Yearbook of International Law (GYIL), 2009
Sabine von Schorlemer: Cultural Heritage Law: Recent Developments in the Laws of War and Occupation, in: Cultural Heritage Issues: The Legacy of Conquest, Colonization and Commerce, 2010, S. 137-158
Sabine von Schorlemer: 40 Jahre UNESCO-Welterbekonvention: Die Stärkung des Schutzes unseres Planeten und seiner Ressourcen, in: Beiträge des UNESCO-Lehrstuhls für Internationale Beziehungen, Beiträge des UNESCO-Lehrstuhls für Internationale Beziehungen 2013/1, 2013, S. 1-13