UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE

Transcription

1 UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE 6 MSP UCH/17/6.MSP/INF4.1REV Paris, 3 May 2017 Original: English UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE MEETING OF STATES PARTIES Sixth session Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, Room II May 2017 Item 4 of the Provisional Agenda - Information Document 4.1 Secretariat s Report This document contains the Report of the Secretariat on its activities from the last session of the Meeting of States Parties in April 2015 until April 2017 (see draft resolution proposed in document UCH/17/6.MSP/4).

2 UCH/17/6.MSP/INF4.1REV - page 2 SECRETARIAT S REPORT A. STATUTORY MEETINGS, RATIFICATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE I. Statutory Meetings The fifth session of the Meeting of States Parties (28-29 April 2015) discussed strategies to enhance ratification and implementation of the Convention and proposed to hold a working meeting to further discuss these questions. This Working Meeting of States Parties on the new ratification strategy was organized on 9 May 2016, preceded by an Information Meeting on the Convention for Permanent Delegations on the same day. The Sixth Meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB) was held directly after the fifth session of the Meeting of States Parties on 30 April 2015 and the Seventh Meeting was organized on 10 May They resulted in an initiative to identify best practices in underwater heritage and dispatch of several assistance missions to States Parties (see STAB Reports in document UCH/17/6.MSP/4.2). A letter requesting States Parties to share examples of best practices was sent on 25 June 2015 and several States provided relevant information (see document UCH/17/6.MSP/INF.6). By his letter of 12 December 2016, H. E. Mr Alejandro Palma Cerna, Chairperson of the fifth session of the Meeting of States Parties, informed H. E. Mr Stanley Mutumba Simataa, President of the General Conference and Chair of the open-ended working group on governance, procedures and methods of the governing bodies of UNESCO (38 C/Resolution 101) of the discussions of the suggestions made by the External Auditor (see document UCH/15/5.MSP.4.3 and Summary Record UCH/17/6.MSP/3). He also provided a fact-sheet on governing bodies of the 2001 Convention. During the meeting of Sub-Group 2 on Structure, composition and methods of work of UNESCO s international and intergovernmental bodies of the working group on governance (UNESCO HQ, 31 March 2017) eleven Member States requested a stronger balance in the distribution of human and financial resources for all Culture Conventions. They expressed their concern about the inadequate human resources of the Secretariat of the 2001 Convention, while nevertheless congratulating the Secretariat for its work obtained with only one staff member assigned to the 2001 Convention. A third meeting of the six Chairpersons of statutory organs of the six UNESCO Culture Conventions is scheduled to take place on 27 November 2017 in the morning. It will be focused on the Strategy for the Reinforcement of UNESCO s Action for the Protection of Culture and the Promotion of Cultural Pluralism in the Event of Armed Conflict. The Meeting of States Parties might wish to discuss the modalities of the participation of its Chairperson in the 27 November 2017 meeting. II. Ratifications The UN General Assembly called in its recent resolution A/RES/71/257 on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, adopted on 23 December 2016, upon States that have not yet done so to become parties to the UNESCO 2001 Convention.

3 UCH/15/5.MSP/INF4.1 - page 3 Since April 2015, six UNESCO Member States have ratified the 2001 Convention (Bolivia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Saudi Arabia and South Africa). III. STAB Missions and Emergency Assistance Assisted by the Secretariat, a STAB Emergency Mission assessed from 16 to 24 June 2015 the state of a wreck lying off Sainte-Marie Island (Madagascar): the alleged wreck of Captain Kidd s Adventure Galley. It refuted the false identification but confirmed ongoing pillage. Two further STAB Emergency Missions visited Panama on 6-14 July and October 2015 to examine the site of the San José shipwreck, a Spanish galleon, equally assisted by the Secretariat. A commercial company had been salvaging the wreck since STAB Mission follow-up: A National Meeting was organized in Antananarivo (Madagascar) by UNESCO and the national authorities on November 2015 (following the STAB mission), resulting in the adoption of an Action Plan for the protection of underwater cultural heritage by Madagascar, as recommended by the STAB; UNESCO, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Handicrafts of Madagascar, organized a capacity-building workshop in Salary (Tuléar) from 3 to 8 October 2016 focusing on the implementation of the Convention and the management of Underwater Cultural Heritage; The training was followed by a Local Community Workshop on Sainte-Marie Island, location of the wrecks that were object of the original STAB Emergency Mission, from 10 to 15 October Protection of Culture in the Event of Armed Conflict: In accordance with the Strategy for Reinforcing UNESCO s Action for the Protection of Culture and the Promotion of Cultural Pluralism in the Event of Armed Conflict, the Secretariat works to strengthen the ability of Member States to prevent the loss and damage to their underwater cultural heritage due to armed conflict. It does so by developing institutional and professional capacities for reinforced protection especially in concerned regions, such as by the Regional Meeting for the Arab Region in Rabat (Morocco) on 2-3 June It also works to incorporate the protection of culture into peacebuilding processes by engaging with relevant stakeholders outside the culture domain, such as through its work in peace education based on underwater cultural heritage of World War I (see below) and its engagement in the UN Oceans Network, with INTERPOL and other stakeholders. The Secretariat prepares an emergency mission to Chuuk Lagoon (Federal States of Micronesia) scheduled to take place in Autumn 2017 to focus on the urgent preservation of World War II wrecks, addressing also environmental hazards emanating from them. The UNESCO Emergency Fund will finance this technical mission. IV. Regional and National Policy Meetings UNESCO s Secretariat has organized the following meetings regarding national and regional policies:

4 UCH/15/5.MSP/INF4.1 - page 4 The Second African Regional Meeting on Underwater Cultural Heritage in Malindi (Kenya) in March 2015, in cooperation with the Kenyan authorities The Secretariat presented the Convention in a National Meeting in Bogota (Colombia), in June A Regional Meeting on Underwater Cultural Heritage for the Arab States was organized in June 2016 in Rabat, Morocco. A Regional Meeting on Underwater Cultural Heritage for Europe was organized in June 2016 in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. A global Roundtable was organized at the International Conference for Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA6) in Fremantle, Australia in November The Third African Regional Meeting on Underwater Cultural Heritage in Maputo (Mozambique) in December 2016, in cooperation with the Mozambique authorities. A National Workshop on the Island of Mozambique preceded the regional meeting. All these meetings dealt mainly with the advancement of the ratification and implementation processes of the 2001 Convention. The next regional meeting is planned to take place from 20 to 21 June 2017 in Côte d Ivoire. Further national meetings are planned to take place in El Salvador and Costa Rica in summer 2017 and in the Dominican Republic later in The 2001 Convention was also referred to during an Information Meeting with Permanent Delegations on the UNESCO Policy on Engaging with Indigenous Peoples (UNESCO HQ, 2 February 2017) V. International Meeting on the Implementation of the 2001 Convention An International Meeting on Underwater Cultural Heritage Site Protection took place at UNESCO HQ on September It enhanced cooperation with bodies, such as INTERPOL and ICOMOS, and discussed the prevention of pillage, commercial exploitation and the unethical or illicit trafficking of underwater cultural heritage. In particular, the participants: recommended that the protection of underwater cultural heritage should become part of the efforts made in ocean surveillance activities of coast guards, port, security, defence, customs and police authorities as well as of international defense organizations; strongly discouraged museums from acquiring underwater cultural heritage objects coming from commercially exploited or pillaged sites, and if they already kept such objects, to at least ensure that their presentation does not contribute to the encouragement of such unethical activities; considered the seizure of underwater cultural heritage recovered contrary to the provisions of the 2001 Convention; encouraged the organization of national and regional technical training workshops for law enforcement entities on the protection of underwater cultural heritage; encouraged the creation of Red Lists for the underwater cultural heritage, to draw attention on endangered types of artefacts; and strongly encouraged States to create specialized Police Force Units exclusively dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage, including underwater cultural heritage.

5 UCH/15/5.MSP/INF4.1 - page 5 Videos of the expert presentations have been posted on the Convention s website.1 B. AWARENESS-RAISING, EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT I. Public Outreach and Education Publication of a brochure on the pillage and commercial exploitation of underwater cultural heritage sites; Wide distribution of the teachers manual on peace education and underwater cultural heritage of World War I and related school activities; Organization, on 3 December 2015, of an Underwater Cultural Heritage Event focusing on the importance of underwater cultural heritage for understanding climate change at the COP21, encompassing a panel of experts accompanied by the distribution of cards and flyers; Organization of an exhibition on underwater cultural heritage of World War I in the National Museum, Phnom Penh (Cambodia). The exhibition was a great success as more than 90,000 people visited it from September to December 2016; A social media campaign featuring infographics, cards and films, published on the UNESCO Twitter and Facebook accounts2; and, Publication of an ipad/android application for use on smartphones and tablets in 10 languages. Materials being finalized are: A training manual on underwater cultural heritage protection focusing on the GRULAC region in Spanish; and A Legal Commentary on the 2001 Convention. II. Scientific Community Outreach Scientific Conferences A Scientific Colloquium on Public Access to underwater cultural heritage was organized on 9 June 2016 in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. University Cooperation (UNITWIN) Several UNITWIN Network meetings, uniting more than twenty universities specialized in underwater cultural heritage related training, were organized, two in April 2016 and April 2017 respectively at UNESCO and one in December 2016 in Fremantle, Australia. International Centre for Underwater Archaeology (Category II Centre) The International Centre for Underwater Archaeology (ICUA) is a UNESCO Category 2 Centre located in Zadar, Croatia. An evaluation of its work recommended the renewal of the and

6 UCH/15/5.MSP/INF4.1 - page 6 agreement concerning the continuation of the ICUA as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO, which was approved by the 197th session of the UNESCO s Executive Board, and appropriately signed by both parties. UNESCO cooperates with this Center mainly on actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the provision of conservation training and participates in its annual meeting of the Governing Council. Chair for underwater cultural heritage Two UNESCO Chairs on underwater cultural heritage have been established by the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and the University of Aix-Marseille (France). Collaboration with the University of Lisbon focuses on the provision of scientific assistance to African and Arab States conducting research on Portuguese shipwreck sites, whereas collaboration with the University of Aix-Marseille focuses on the research of shipwrecks rom World Wars I and II. C. CAPACITY-BUILDING 1. Trainings and Capacity-Building Materials A Regional Training for GRULAC in Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) from November 2015; A Workshop on Underwater Archaeology for the African Countries in Kemer (Turkey) from 6-17 May 2015, and A Training Workshop on Underwater Archaeology for African Countries from December 2015 in Mombasa (Kenya). 2. Culture and Sustainable Development Goals The Secretariat participates in the work of the UN Oceans Network and established close cooperation with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), in the framework of the contribution to the achievement of the SDGs. An operational project is under way, focusing on the Cervera fleet wrecks in Cuba and its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals through responsible tourism access. In this regard, the STAB organized together with the Secretariat a side-event on the 2001 Convention and its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals at New York, on 15 February 2017 in the framework of the Preparatory Meeting of the UN Oceans Conference, scheduled to take place at UN Headquarters in New York from 5 to 9 June A second side-event will be organized during the main conference on 5 June 2017.