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Iraqi Cultural Heritage: Second UNESCO Mission
[7.5.2003 | Iraq]
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, announced this morning, at an information meeting for the staff of the Organization that a second UNESCO expert mission would be leaving for Iraq on 28 June 2003, to take stock of the situation of Iraqi heritage. The misson will include specialists in museums, archives, libraries, historical monuments and archaeological sites.
A first expert mission visited Baghdad from 15 to 20 May last, focusing on questions related to the theft of cultural objects, the preparation of an inventory for the Baghdad Museum and the fine-tuning of an action plan aimed at restoring the principal cultural institutions of the city.
This second mission, scheduled to last one week, has been organized in close cooperation with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and has received the personal support of Mr Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq.
The mission, led by Mounir Bouchenaki, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture, will include eight internationally renowned experts from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands. These specialists in museums, archives, libraries, historical monuments and archaeological sites will split into two groups for maximum effectiveness. The first will concentrate on assessing the situation of museums, historic buildings, archives and libraries. The experts present in Baghdad on 3 July will participate in an official ceremony in which the Treasure of Nimrod, which had not been shown since the beginning of the embargo, will be exhibited for a few hours in the city?s Museum. The second group of experts is scheduled to visit the archaeological sites to the North and South of the Iraqi capital; their work programme could however be modified for reasons linked to security conditions on the ground. The Director-General has also decided to send Mr Usam Ghaidan, an architect specializing in historic monuments, to Iraq, to ensure coordination between UNESCO, the CPA, and the authorities responsible for Iraqi cultural institutions.
The results of these different missions, together with information from the international scientific community ? which shares with UNESCO all the data in its possession ? should enable the actions undertaken in support of Iraqi cultural heritage to be effectively continued. The Director-General welcomed in this regard ?this exemplary international cooperation which is ensuring that the foremost experts in Iraqi cultural heritage are working together under UNESCO?s aegis and that databases are being expanded, while avoiding dispersal of human and material resources.?
For the Director-General, ?Over and above this cooperation within the scientific, university and museum communities, we are seeing the emergence of a new awareness of the importance of cultural heritage as a constituent part of national identity. This mobilization of the international community reflects a determination to give to the Iraqi people the means of reclaiming their history, preserving their identity and creating the conditions to build their future on solid and meaningful foundations.? ?In recognizing that UNESCO has a major role to play in this field, by proposing and coordinating activities, the international community acclaims not only our efforts, but also the guiding idea on which our action is based?, he concluded.
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