Speaking yesterday at a high-level UNESCO conference, ICTY Registrar Mr. John Hocking highlighted the role of the ICTY in cementing the legal foundation for accountability for the destruction of cultural heritage. The event “Cultural diversity under attack: Protecting heritage for peace” began yesterday in Brussels and concludes this afternoon.
“Where there is cultural destruction there may be genocide. Where there is cultural cleansing there may be ethnic cleansing. From Dubrovnik to Timbuktu, we cannot afford to downplay crimes against cultural heritage”, said Registrar Hocking.
The meeting was opened by Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, and brought together representatives of Member States, international organizations and cultural partner institutions of UNESCO and the European Union, as well as experts in the fields of culture, peacekeeping and peace-building and international cooperation.
