![Sample our Built Environment journals, sign in here to start your access, Latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5926/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Built-Environment.jpg"})
Abstract
Transitional justice is considered a building block of peacebuilding in post-conflict scenarios. Processes may include criminal justice mechanisms, reparation programmes, truth-seeking bodies and institutional reforms which seek to provide redress for victims of human rights atrocities. However, it is now widely acknowledged that the destruction of cultural heritage plays a significant role in and of itself in modern conflicts, affecting entire societies, as it is linked to the destruction of group identity, and can even prolong violence in the post-conflict period. The loss of cultural heritage has been devastating in the ongoing civil war in Syria, most notably in World Heritage sites. Despite this, discussions of potential peacebuilding methods and ideas for transitional justice programmes in Syria have failed to incorporate it. This paper argues that cultural heritage should be included in such work in its own right, and suggests ways this could be accomplished to encourage greater awareness of Syria’s cultural diversity, and the understanding and healing that can bring.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Mathew Gillett for his valuable feedback on this paper and Lydia Magnavacca for her assistance with research into the effects of heritage loss in Syria.
Notes
1 Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, The Rule of Law, UN Doc. S/2004/616, para. 8, http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2004/616 [accessed 5 January 2016].
2 Human Rights Council, Annual Report for Human UN Doc. A/HRC/12/18, para. 8, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/149/18/PDF/G0914918.pdf?OpenElement [accessed 5 January 2016].
3 Human Rights Council, Annual Report for Human UN Doc. A/HRC/12/18, para. 37, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/149/18/PDF/G0914918.pdf?OpenElement [accessed 5 January 2016].
4 For an overview of transitional justice mechanisms, see Sandoval Villalba, Transitional Justice: Key Concepts (IDCR-BP-07/11), http://www.idcr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/07_11.pdf [accessed 5 January 2016].
5 UNESCO, World Heritage Centre, 2013. Decision: 37 COM 8C.1: Update of the List of World Heritage in Danger (inscribed properties), http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/5176/ [accessed 5 January 2016].
6 This article focuses only on the destruction of built heritage, but the mechanisms discussed here would be equally valuable if applied to the loss of Syria’s libraries and archives, and intangible heritage, all of which have suffered in the conflict.
7 Preamble of the South African Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995, http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1995-034.pdf [accessed 27 September 2015].
8 Hayner, Unspeakable Truths, 28.
9 Ibid.
10 Cryer et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law, 182.
11 Section 6 of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2000, http://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/2000-4.pdf [accessed 27 September 2015].
12 Article 1(1) of the Statute of the Special Court of Sierra Leone.
13 Hayner, Unspeakable Truths, 59.
14 All reports may be accessed at http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-the-final-report/popular-reports [accessed 27 September 2015].
15 Art. 15(2) of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act of 2002.
16 Hayner, Unspeakable Truths, 60.
17 Ibid., 28. The other two bodies were the Amnesty Committee and the Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee.
18 United Nations, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). 2001. Prosecutor v. Dario Kordić and Mario Čerkez, Trial Judgment (26 February 2001), Case No. IT-95-14/2-T, para. 361. http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf [accessed 6 January 2016].
19 Lixinski, “Cultural Heritage Law and Transitional Justice”, 285.
20 Walasek, “Destruction of Cultural Heritage”, 29.
21 Viejo-Rose, “Reconstructing Heritage in the Aftermath”, 144.
22 Cunliffe, Damage to the Soul. http://ghn.globalheritagefund.com/uploads/documents/document_2107.pdf [accessed 6 January 2016].
23 See, e.g. Lamb, “Risking Their Lives to Preserve Our Global Cultural Heritage”, Intifada, March 28, 2014, http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2014/03/palmyrenes-risking-lives-preserve-global-cultural-heritage/ [accessed 6 January 2016].
24 See, e.g. DGAM. 2013. “Residents of Deir Ez-Zor Intervene to Stop Illegal Excavations at Tell Sheikh Hamad”. Directorate-General of Antiquities & Museums, Ministry of Culture, Syrian Arab Republic, http://www.dgam.gov.sy/index.php?d=314&id=893 [accessed 22 September 2015].
25 Barnard and Saad, “In Syria’s Largest City, Fire Ravages Ancient Market”, New York Times, September 30, 2012.
26 In fact, the Commission to Preserve National Monuments (created in accordance with Annex 8 of the Dayton Peace Agreement) expected to be so overwhelmed with petitions for which monuments to preserve that it chose to forgo the consultation process when selecting national monuments for legislative protection. See, Walasek, “Destruction of Cultural Heritage”, 191.
27 See, e.g. Viejo-Rose, Reconstructing Spain; and also Walasek, Bosnia and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage.
28 See accounts from Stolac in Hadzimuhamedovic, “Built Heritage in Post-War Reconstruction”; and from Gernika in Viejo-Rose, “Reconstructing Heritage in the Aftermath”.
29 Loosley, “Archaeology and Cultural Belonging”.
30 Viejo-Rose, Reconstructing Spain, 213.
31 Isakhan, “Heritage Destruction and Spikes in Violence”.
32 Walasek, “Domains of Restoration”, 238.
33 Viejo-Rose, “Memorial Functions”.
34 See in general Lixinski, “Cultural Heritage Law and Transitional Justice”, 278–96.
35 Isakhan, “Targeting the Symbolic Dimension”.
36 Viejo-Rose, Reconstructing Spain, 214.
37 This is an initiative put forward by the Syrian Interim Government and can be accessed at http://www.syriaig.org/en/index.php/11/2014-02-24-21-04-33 [accessed 27 September 2015].
38 Seils, Towards a Transitional Justice Strategy.
39 Lostal, “Syria's World Cultural Heritage”, 17.
40 For example, during the prosecutions for the shelling of Dubrovnik, ‘The Trial Chamber finds that, since it is a serious violation of international humanitarian law to attack civilian buildings, it is a crime of even greater seriousness to direct an attack on an especially protected site, such as the Old Town’. See Prosecutor v. Jokic´, Judgement, Case No. IT-01-42/1, Trial Chamber, 18 March 2004, at paras 51–54; in Frulli, “The Criminalization of Offences”.
41 In fact, it is a curious paradox that some sites have achieved World Heritage status, partially due to their destruction during conflict and later reconstruction.
42 Viejo-Rose, “Memorial Functions”.
43 Article 15(a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; however, the Office High Commissioner for Human Rights has acknowledged that transitional justice mechanisms offer the potential for incorporating cultural rights, but this approach has not yet been fully embraced, see United Nations. General Assembly 2009, UN Doc. A/HRC/12/18, paras. 59–60 http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/149/18/PDF/G0914918.pdf?OpenElement [accessed 6 January 2016].
44 See Article 15(1)(a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
45 Lixinski, “Cultural Heritage Law and Transitional Justice”, 285.
46 Ibid.
47 See e.g. article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict.
48 And potentially humankind.
49 United Nations. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). 2005. Prosecutor v. Pavle Strugar, Trial Judgement (31 January 2005), para. 232.
50 See Sandoval Villalba, Transitional Justice.
51 Cunliffe et al., “Destruction of Cultural Property”.
52 The two ICTY prosecutions for cultural heritage destruction for the shelling of the World Heritage site of Dubrovnik, determined sentences of 7 and 7.5 years.
53 UNESCO, World Heritage Centre, n.d., Ancient City of Aleppo, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/21 (accessed 27 September 2015).
54 Cunliffe, E., personal communication with Aleppeans, June 25, 2015.
55 Human Rights Watch, 2012. ‘“They Burned My Heart’: War Crimes in Northern Idlib during Peace Plan Negotiations”, February 2, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria0512webwcover.pdf [accessed 6 January 2016].
56 The South African TRC used the truth for amnesty formula.
57 Lostal, “Syria's World Cultural Heritage”, 17.
58 Cryer et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law, 572.
59 Lustration refers to the purge of government officials and civil servants and the prohibition of holding such positions in the future.
60 For example, Babylon and Ur in Iraq; Stari Most bridge in Bosnia–Herzegovina; and the shrines in Timbuktu in Mali were all rebuilt, whilst discussions about rebuilding the Buddhas in the Bamiyan Valley are still continuing.
61 Walasek, “Domains of Restoration”, 228.
62 Viejo-Rose, “Reconstructing Spain”, 209.
63 Examples of this collaboration can be seen in the State of Conservation reports submitted to the World Heritage Committee, and the ensuing assistance offered by UNESCO. In addition to organising training for the DGAM, such as the e-learning course organised by ICOMOS in cooperation with ICCROM and UNESCO (in WHC-13/37.COM/7B.Add, p117), UNESCO has also established the Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Cultural Heritage project (see the project website – https://en.unesco.org/syrian-observatory/emergency-safeguarding-syrian-cultural-heritage-project#sthash.DTqShwgz.dpuf).
64 Seif, “Conceiving the Past”. In fact, mistakes made during the reconstruction on Beirut are now being used as instructive examples to suggest guidelines for the rebuilding of the World Heritage site of Aleppo. (See: The Aleppo Project, Rebuilding Downtown Beirut).
65 Stone, “Patterns of Looting”; Stone, “An Update on the Looting”.
66 Anon., “ISIL Plundering Syrian, Iraqi Heritage Sites on ‘Industrial Scale”’, Strategic Culture Foundation, July 3, 2015.
67 See various reports in Emberling et al., Catastrophe!; Stone and Farchakh-Bajjaly, Destruction of Cultural Heritage.
68 Bogdanos, “Thieves of Baghdad”.
69 Walasek, “Domains of Restoration”.
70 Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology. 2013. Crac des Chevaliers – state of the al Seray Mosque. 26 October 2013. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYPsnODgNGU&feature=youtu.b [accessed 26 September 2015].
71 Viejo-Rose, Reconstructing Spain: Cultural Heritage and Memory, 105.
