We have today a comprehensive set of legally binding international treaties to protect culture — the 1954 convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, the 1970 Unesco convention against illicit trafficking of cultural property, and the 1972 World Heritage Convention, whose 40th anniversary we celebrate this year.
We need to think big once again, to protect culture under attack.
We do not believe the market will protect culture, history and language and we will intervene to protect these subjects.
The fact is, protecting culture is protecting people — it is about protecting their way of life and providing them with essential resources to rebuild when war ends.
We often hear that protecting culture is a luxury better left for another day, that people must come first.
To lay the ground for peace, we must act now to protect culture, while tensions are high.
One little boy, 8 or 9, had a frozen expression as he heard how his father had died, protecting the staff of the British Council, protecting culture.
Bans still remain on imports of Japanese animation and certain television programs, but they appear driven less by a need to protect culture than markets.
"The research whaling in the Antarctic is not about protecting culture," said Ichio Ishimori, a city councilman in Ishinomaki, of which Ayukawahama is a part.
Lastly, the best way to protect culture in conflict is to make the most of it to prevent conflicts, and make it a pillar of peace building.
The organisation has no mandate to use force: though Italy recently floated the idea of UN peacekeepers being deployed to protect culture, even Unesco's own experts say it is difficult to see how this would work.
