UNESCO: Stop Targeting Sudanese Archaeological sites

Sudan Events – Follow-ups

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has expressed deep concern about recent reports of military activities on the island of Merowe in Sudan, whose archaeological sites have been included in the World Heritage List, calling on all parties not to target these sites or use them for military purposes.
In a statement published on its website, UNESCO called on all parties concerned in the Sudanese conflict to fully respect international law, including the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which stipulates that cultural property may not be targeted or used for the purposes of military, explaining that it is closely following developments in the situation following reports indicating the presence of military activities in this region.
Given the high risks of looting and illicit trafficking in cultural property, and because of the low security capacity at Sudanese heritage sites, UNESCO called for the vigilance of law enforcement agencies, art market actors and all cultural professionals to refrain from acquiring or participating in the import, export or transfer of ownership of cultural property when they have reasonable cause to believe that the property has been stolen, illegally transported, secretly excavated or illegally exported from Sudan.