Fund set up to protect endangered heritage sites

Representatives of around 40 countries today 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 USD 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.
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.
UNESCO director Irina Bokova said: "The creation of this fund breaks new ground.... I see this as the starting point of something... Global."
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan urged all countries to "cooperate and coordinate to control the trafficking of cultural property.... Especially in some Arab countries that have suffered from the dangers of violence and terrorism."
France is to contribute around USD 30 million to the fund.

"Our objective is to collect at least USD 100 million, and we can reach this," Hollande said.