The Minister
of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has called for the
sensitization of local communities across Africa in order to raise their
consciousness about the importance of protecting cultural heritage against
marauders.
The Minister
made the call at the two-day International Conference on the Safeguarding of
Cultural Heritage in Conflicts Areas, which rounded off in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates, on Saturday.
He said
during the crisis in Mali in 2012-2013, the great majority of historic
manuscripts which were saved were housed by family libraries, adding: ''These
private individuals, knowing the inestimable value of these manuscripts,
devised strategies that got them out of harm’s way.''
Alhaji
Mohammed said the $100 million Fund to be established for the purpose of
protecting cultural heritage in areas of conflict should make provision for the
sensitization campaign
''For us in
Africa, the pivotal position of the local people cannot be over emphasized.
Therefore, the international fund to be established should also cater for the
sensitization of local people. Another point linked to the issue of funding is
that in Africa, we lag behind in electronic preservation of heritage monuments,
sites and manuscripts. The fund should also cater for this in the Internet
age,'' he said.
The Minister
stressed the need for political will in order to sustain the efforts to protect
cultural heritage in times of conflict.
''I talk
about political will because this will not be the first or only attempt that
has been made to safeguard our cultural heritage during armed conflicts. There
are historical precedents and existing legal framework in this regard. The 1954
UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of
Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and the 1970 UNESCO Convention
on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer
of Ownership of Cultural Property readily come to mind here,'' he said.
Alhaji
Mohammed disclosed that Nigeria has joined all the Conventions aimed at dealing
with the threat to and destruction of cultural property, and that the country
is now in the process of domesticating them.
''It is
absolutely important for all the countries of the world to subscribe to all
these conventions. Countries must show their deepest concern about cultural
genocide being manifested in the the activities that have led to the convening
of the conference. In addition to joining the treaties, it must be emphasized
that nations must adopt or receive the Conventions into their domestic laws,''
he said.
The Minister
said Nigeria, like many other countries in the world, including Mali and
Afghanistan, has recorded attacks on its cultural heritage, adding: ''One of
the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country, the Sukur Cultural Landscape in
the North-eastern State of Adamawa, was not spared by the Boko Haram
insurgency.''
While
calling on States to declare as a war crime the intentional destruction of
cultural heritage, he stressed the need to check the activities of those
involved in the art trade as well as the universal or encyclopedic museums.
''The art
trade, by which I mean auction houses - from the multi nationals like
Christie’s, Sotherby’s and Bonhams to the lesser ones - must be held to greater
accountability with regard to their patronage of individuals and groups who
come to them with unprovenanced cultural heritage objects... The Universal
Museums like the British Museum, the Louvre, the Prado and the Armitage should
desist from purchasing objects of uncertain provenance,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.
At the end
of the conference, which was attended by representatives of 40 nations,
including several Heads of State and Government, the Abu Dhabi Declaration for
the establishment of the International Fund for the Protection of Cultural
Heritage in Armed Conflicts and the creation of an international network of
safe havens to protect cultural property during armed conflict was adopted.
Segun
Adeyemi
SA to Hon
Minister of Information and Culture
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
3 Dec. 2016
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