UNESCO: Lebanon's Tyre City, a World Heritage Site, has been damaged

UNESCO held a special meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict on April 1 and released a press statement. The announcement confirmed that satellite monitoring shows that parts of Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Lebanon, have been damaged. UNESCO said that, at the request of the Lebanese government, the meeting decided to list 39 of the country’s cultural heritage sites as part of the “Enhanced Protection” list and provided more than $100,000 in international emergency aid to carry out on-site protection actions. The 39 cultural heritage sites included on the list will receive the highest level of legal protection under the current international legal framework, prohibiting attacks on these sites or using them for military purposes during armed conflict. Violations of the relevant regulations may result in criminal liability. UNESCO also said that it is currently working with Lebanon’s Ministry of Culture and the Directorate General of Antiquities to promote the safe transfer and preservation of archaeological collections and museum artifacts, and that it is collaborating with the United Nations Satellite Centre to monitor the preservation status of historical sites through satellite monitoring and to assess potential damage. (CCTV News)