ABSTRACT
Wartime destruction, theft, pillage or misappropriation of cultural property is as old as armed conflict itself. Throughout history countless architectural structures of outstanding historic or artistic value, works of art and other cultural artifacts have been destroyed or plundered during warfare. The Roman destruction of Carthage, the German destruction of the Louvain library, the bombing of Yokohama, Tokyo, Rotterdam, London, Hamburg, Dresden and the irreplaceable monastery of Monte Cassino, the pillage of Jewish art during the Second World War, the use of historical sites in Lebanon, Iraq, Kosovo and Syria for military purposes, the deliberate shelling of the Old City of Dubrovnik (a World Heritage site), the burning of the Sarajevo library, the destruction of the Old Bridge of Mostar and the mausoleums in Mali, the looting of Iraq’s national museum and of the magnificent Roman mosaics of Apamea in Syria are only a few examples of the deliberate destruction of humanity’s cultural heritage in times of armed conflict. It is impossible to predict how many treasures future generations will be deprived of due to warfare.
