UN approves resolution to save cultural heritage


2015-05-30 08:48:46

NEWS DESK (DİHA) - The United Nations approved a resolution to save Iraq’s cultural heritage on Thursday, after ISIS militants destroyed the ancient in the country.

Iraq called on the U.N. to save its antiquities from militants, who looted and destroyed some of the world’s greatest archaeological treasures. The resolution was proposed by Germany and Iraq. “The international community must do everything in its power to halt the destruction of Iraq’s cultural heritage and to hold perpetrators to account,” U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said. 

ISIS militants attacked the 2,000 year-old city of Hatra in northern Iraq with bulldozers after assaulting the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud. Video footage also showed ISIS militants ransacking a Mosul museum, toppling statues and sculptures. Global communities condemned the destruction, and the U.N. described the incidenta war crimes.

“We are suggesting concrete protective measures in order to safeguard the cultural heritage of Iraq … make sure that they will be restored,” said Maria Böhmer, German Minister of State and Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

(nt)