Report to the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Japan: Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Amid Armed Conflicts
On May 19, 2024, the general meeting and public symposium of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Japan was held at the National Museum of Ethnology. At this general meeting, Mr. ISHIMURA Tomo, Director of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, gave a report titled “Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Amid Armed Conflict in Sudan” (co-authored with Mr. SHIMIZU Nobuhiro and Ms. SEKIHIRO Naoyo). The authors had been collecting information on the current state of cultural heritage in Sudan under armed conflict as part of the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, “Heritage studies for realization of cultural diversity and peacebuilding in post-conflict countries,” and presented the results of the research.
In Sudan, the armed conflict between the Sudanese National Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that began in April 2023 continues to this day, and the country’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage has been severely affected. We have been in contact with Sudanese cultural heritage experts both in and outside Sudan, as well as international experts in the UK and elsewhere, to collect information on the current situation. At this meeting, we reported on the results of our efforts and called for the need for international support for Sudan through the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is one of the organizations that make up the Blue Shield International. The Blue Shield International was established in 1996 as an international framework that works to protect cultural heritage that is facing threats to survival due to armed conflicts and disasters, based on the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (commonly known as the Hague Convention), adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1954. Japan ratified the Hague Convention in 2007, becoming the 117th state party, but Japan is not yet a member of the Blue Shield International.
Japan has been fortunate in not being involved in any major armed conflicts since the end of the war in 1945. However, much cultural heritage has been damaged by armed conflicts around the world since then. Japan has been involved in international cooperation for post-conflict cultural heritage protection in Cambodia and Afghanistan, and has received high praise from the international community for this work.
However, looking at the current situation, armed conflicts continue not only in Sudan but also in various other parts of the world, such as Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, and much cultural heritage is at risk. What can we do to safeguard this cultural heritage? We hoped that our report at this meeting of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Japan would serve as an opportunity to discuss this issue.