Representatives of around 40 countries on Saturday approved plans to establish a fund to protect heritage sites in war zones and a network of safe havens for endangered artworks. A closing statement issued after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi did not specify the total amount pledged for the fund but French President Francois Hollande said a target of $100 million remained achievable.
The meeting, co-sponsored by France and the United Arab Emirates, was spurred by the systematic destruction and looting of archaeological treasures in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State group. The world watched in dismay as the jihadists systematically destroyed temples and tower tombs in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra last year. In Iraq, videos showed IS using bulldozers and explosives to destroy Nimrud, a jewel of the Assyrian empire, and ransacking pre-Islamic treasures in the Mosul Museum. "This is the first time that countries, organisations, experts and donors have come together to protect the property of humanity and to provide the means to achieve it," said Hollande.
But proposals for ancient artefacts to be taken abroad for safekeeping met with reservations from some countries - notably Greece and Egypt - which saw treasured artworks removed for display in museums in Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Participants in the meeting, who also included representatives of international organisations and private institutions, pledged "to safeguard the endangered cultural heritage of all peoples, against its destruction and illicit trafficking." The Geneva-based fund they set up will be charged with safeguarding cultural heritage endangered by conflict, financing preventive and emergency operations, combating the illicit trafficking of artefacts and helping restore damaged cultural property.