UK Unesco committee: Ratify bill to save heritage from war

DEAR Prime Minister, in January 2008 the UK Government published a Draft Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill. It was intended to enable the UK government to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the major international instrument safeguarding cultural property during conflict. The UK signed the Convention in 1954 and our Armed Forces currently work "within the spirit of" the Convention.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport Select Committee scrutinised the draft bill and published its recommendation supporting the draft bill in the summer of 2008. There was overwhelming support from the heritage sector for the draft bill which enjoyed cross-party support. The Ministry of Defence was also in favour of the draft bill that would have enabled it to work under the clear guidance of the 1954 Hague Convention. We urge that the bill is placed before parliament at the earliest possible opportunity.

This issue came to prominence in 2003 when the US/UK led coalition's invasion of Iraq led to a catastrophic loss of cultural property. At that stage neither the US nor the UK had ratified the 1954 Hague Convention. The US ratified the Convention in March 2009, leaving the UK as arguably the most significant military power (and the only one with extensive military involvements abroad) not to have ratified the 1954 Hague Convention.

We believe the bill continues to command cross-party, heritage sector, and MoD support and that its passing would signal to the international community that the UK's armed forces treat cultural property with the highest respect.

While we fully accept that the government has a great deal of legislation to take before parliament we suggest this short draft bill would have a clear passage and would make a significant contribution to the UK acknowledging its responsibilities to the international community.

• From the UK National Commission of Unesco and 11 other major UK cultural institutions.