US NGO, the Antiquities Coalition, has published a policy brief by Haydee Dijkstal of 33 Bedford Row through its Think Tank. The policy paper addresses cultural heritage that is impacted, damaged or destroyed by activities such as large-scale development projects and exploitation of natural resources, which lead to environmental damage, abusive land acquisitions and in times result in displacement of communities and groups, and disproportionately indigenous peoples.
The paper examines whether international criminal law and the International Criminal Court (ICC) might provide victims of these acts a remedy to achieve justice and accountability, as well as provide deterrence, under the crimes available within the Rome Statute and when there is jurisdiction before the Court.
The destruction of cultural heritage is often associated with war and armed conflict, and before the ICC the available crime under the Rome Statute which specifically raises cultural property and heritage is a war crime. Therefore, the ICC’s Statute only provides a specific remedy for actions against cultural heritage perpetrated during conflict or war. This reality leaves a gap in recourse for victims harmed outside a recognised armed conflict – when cultural heritage is harmed by human activities but during times of peace.
For this reason, the policy paper looks to crimes against humanity which can address crimes committed outside an armed conflict. It explores the link between environmental crimes, the destruction of cultural heritage, and the crimes against humanity of deportation and forcible transfer before the ICC. The paper recommends that the crime against humanity of deportation and forcible transfer be explored and utilised to protect cultural heritage by addressing instances where these globalisation activities outside an armed conflict force people from their lands and destroy the land and environment, which are integral to their cultural heritage.
The policy paper can be found at the Antiquities Coalition’s Think Tank, here.
The full policy paper is available here: