14th May 2004 - 50th anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict

14th May 2004: 50th anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict

9th March 2004 – entry into force of the Second Protocol of the 1954 Hague Convention

The year 2004 marks two important dates for the “1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict”. On 14th May 2004, the 1954 Convention celebrated its 50th anniversary, and on 9th March 2004 the Second Protocol of the Convention finally entered into force. The 50th anniversary was celebrated by a conference at UNESCO in Paris, where the International Committee for the Blue Shield (ICBS), of which ICOMOS is one of the four founding members, was invited to make a presentation – see www.ifla.org/blueshield.htm for more information on the ICBS.

All ICOMOS National Committees have been invited to raise awareness nationally on these important international legal instruments and to encourage their countries to become State Parties to the Convention and its two protocols, if they have not yet done so. The texts are accessible on the UNESCO web site and also directly from the ICOMOS web site.

- UNESCO web page on the 1954 Hague Convention and its protocols

- “Information Kit” on the Convention and its two protocols produced by the International Standards Section of the UNESCO Culture Division (download in pdf format)

- UNESCO press releases of 14 May on the 50th anniversary and of 9 March concerning the entry into force of the 2nd protocol