Session: #492

Regular session

Recent times have been marked by the escalation of conflicts in different parts of the world: the war in Ukraine and armed conflicts in the Middle East, to name but a few. In addition to human and material sacrifices, each such conflict deliberately or inadvertently targets heritage sites, causing irreparable loss to individuals and groups, including local and professional communities, researchers, society as a whole, and even future generations to whom our shared memory and knowledge should be passed on.
The damage caused by such heritage crime is complex and multifaceted. We aim to discuss theoretical and practical issues related to the assessment of damage caused by looting, theft and illicit trafficking in artefacts in conflict zones. Discussions will also cover the rights of those affected to access justice and obtain appropriate redress, the development and use of criteria and methodologies for identifying the socio-economic and legal impact of the illicit treatment of sites and artefacts, and preventive and post-conflict measures to reduce the damage caused.
Papers for this session may include but are not limited to:
- Crimes affecting archaeological sites and artefacts;
- Archaeological damage assessment and respective criteria;
- Legal regulation of heritage crime, including the protection of suffered parties;
- Violation of (fundamental) “cultural rights”;
- Socio-economic consequences of heritage crime.

Damage, Rights, Interests, Victims, Protection, Damage assessment

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Irina Olevska-Kairisa (Latvia) ¹

Marianne Mödlinger (Italy) ^2,3,4
Andris Kairiss (Latvia) ⁵
Evelyne Godfrey (United Kingdom) ⁶