Community update: Protection of cultural heritage (May 2019): 20th anniversary of the Second Protocol, investigating and prosecuting crimes, San Antonio Missions

Dick Jackson
Dick Jackson
Dick Jackson is the Vice President of the US Committee of the Blue Shield.
Dick Jackson is currently teaching the Law of Armed Conflict as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, in the LLM program. He retired in 2016 after 44 years working for the US Army as a soldier, lawyer, and expert on the Law of Armed Conflict (IHL). He served at the Department of the Army, NATO and Joint Commands, and all levels of the Army structure. And he served as a Judge Advocate (military attorney) in conflicts in Panama, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq.
Community updates provide brief highlights from expert practitioners about what they see as the key developments in a specific area, what resources they would recommend, and what to look out for in the coming months.

Key developments in the area of Cultural Heritage

20th anniversary of the Second Protocol

The most significant development in cultural property protection over the last few months was the meeting held in Geneva by States party to the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague 1954 Cultural Property Convention, to celebrate its 20th Anniversary.

The anniversary discussion, held at the Geneva International Conference Center from 25-26 April 2019, was convened by States representatives, experts and other stakeholders to share and deliberate on the achievements and challenges facing the implementation of the Second Protocol, and to provide a clear and coherent vision for its future.

One highlight was the presentation by Karl von Hapsburg, the President of Blue Shield International, on the importance of training and working with the military to implement the Hague Convention and its Protocols.

Investigating and prosecuting crimes against cultural property

ARUP Engineering Group hosted a seminar on 2-3 May on Investigating and Prosecuting Crimes Against Cultural Property at their offices in London. Representatives of the US and UK Blue Shield, the International Criminal Court, the British Museum, the Smithsonian, the new British Army Cultural Property unit, and academics gathered to discuss the elements of the crimes and recent prosecution efforts at the international tribunals.

Henry Muñoz and the San Antonio Missions

The US National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) held its annual Gala on 2 May at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, recognizing the contributions of Henry Muñoz for his efforts to achieve designation under the World Heritage Convention for the San Antonio Missions.

Recommended resources

20th anniversary of the Second Protocol

More details about the Second Protocol Meeting can be found at:

Keep an eye out for...

The American Alliance of Museums' annual meeting is 19-22 May in New Orleans. There will be a panel on 21 May regarding the risk to museums, monuments, cemeteries, and other historical sites during armed conflict.
The US National Conference on Cultural Property Protection will be held 19-21 June in Washington DC at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
PHAP community updates are written by members of the association and other practitioners in their personal capacity. The views expressed belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of PHAP or any other organizations with which the author is associated.