Protection of Cultural Property in Situations of Armed Conflict

Abstract

The military conflicts of the first decades of the 21st century threaten to destroy the monuments of ancient civilizations in the Middle East and Africa. The adoption by the world community of several legal documents is intended to ensure the protection of cultural property. This situation deserves close attention of both international lawyers and scholars. Philosophers and cultural scientists pay a lot of attention to the study of cultural values, traditions, cultural heritage, memorial culture. However, there is a lack of works related to the application of knowledge to the current sociocultural situation analysis.  The purpose of the article is to show the interdisciplinary nature of the problem of protecting cultural heritage in situations of armed conflict, the significance of its solution for cultural studies as a science, the importance, but insufficiency of the protective legal approach to the protection of cultural heritage. The protection of world heritage, its preservation in times of war and conflict are  the integral parts of the system of protecting human existence. The encroachment on them is a crime against humanity, the destruction of historical identity and cultural memory. Therefore, the international community is concerned about the need to preserve it as a symbol of the unity of human civilization, despite the existing differences in worldviews and value systems.  We believe that due to the interdisciplinary nature of the topic, it is important, in addition to the legal interpretation, to also give a philosophical and cultural understanding, and also to show that when clarifying the scope of laws that ensure the protection of cultural heritage in a situation of armed conflict, questions invariably arise that go beyond the scope of law, but requiring urgent solutions: the possibility of preserving spiritual values, cultural memory in a situation of destruction of the material substrate.