THEMATIC COURSES

1st Online Course on Cultural Property Protection in the event of Armed Conflict

9 – 30 May 2025, Online

© AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

Cultural heritage — encompassing historical monuments, works of art, archaeological sites, and many other buildings and objects of cultural value — forms a vital part of the collective memory, identity, and values of communities.

In the event of armed conflict, this heritage faces significant risks, not only from incidental harm such as collateral damage or looting but also from deliberate attacks aimed at erasing a population’s connection to its history. As a result, over recent decades, culture has increasingly become a frontline casualty of war, with its damage and destruction exploited by belligerents to incite violence, hatred, and vengeance. Such acts undermine social cohesion, destabilise communities, and exacerbate conflicts, making the path to sustainable peace even more challenging.

Recognising the universal importance of cultural heritage for fostering peace, international law has evolved to protect it during armed conflict. This legal framework is reinforced by best practices from military and civilian actors, who must integrate heritage preservation into broader strategies for peace and security. By adapting tools, behaviors, and developing skills to safeguard cultural property, military forces, civilian personnel, and other stakeholders contribute to a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to the conduct of hostilities, conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery, besides preserving invaluable testimonies of a specific community and humanity at large.

Overall objectives

The main objective of the course is to provide participants with the legal knowledge and key analytical tools necessary to comply with and apply the existing international rules governing cultural property and heritage protection in armed conflict.

The course also aims at promoting the use of the UNESCO Manual on the Protection of Cultural Property as a reference manual for military, civilian and humanitarian practitioners deployed in the field.

Specific learning objectives

This course aims to:

  • Enhance awareness of the importance of cultural property protection for humanitarian practitioners and military personnel;
  • Strengthen knowledge of legal frameworks governing cultural property protection, including International Humanitarian Law, International Human Rights Law, and International Criminal Law, along with their associated safeguarding duties;
  • Improve understanding of military responsibility and accountability for violations of international law concerning cultural property protection;
  • Address operational challenges in cultural property protection—such as marking, targeting, trafficking, looting, and the emergence of new actors —and explore the latest developments and technologies to overcome these issues;
  • Promote the benefits of civil-military networks in achieving the shared goal of cultural property protection;
  • Highlight the connection between cultural property protection and peace processes, including the role of restitution in reconciliation and transitional justice;
  • Encourage collaboration and the exchange of experiences among professionals across various institutional levels, sectors (public, private, national, and international), and countries.
Methodology

The programme will integrate both live and self-paced training sessions.

Attendees will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the subject through self-paced sub-curricula and live interactions with the high-level teaching staff, accurately selected by the organisers. The delivery of assignments will be required to successfully complete the course (see the concept note of the course for more detailed information).

Exercises and case studies will be mainly focused on the real-life application of the international legal standards illustrated by the facilitators, also offering an opportunity to study the best practices implemented on the ground by the most relevant international organisations, NGOs and other actors.

Target Audience

The course is addressed to a broad range of participants, including civilian and military legal advisors, officers, UN professionals, staff from international governmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, researchers, and other humanitarian practitioners operating in crisis scenarios.

REGISTRATION FORM

Registration deadline: 30 April 2025

PROGRAMME

To be released soon

Queries on the Course registration and administrative questions should be directed to eleonora.tranquillo@iihl.org.

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Duration:
3 weeks
Language:
English
Registration fee:
€ 750
End of course:
Official certificate

Participation quota amounts to € 750. It must be remitted before the start of the Course by bank transfer. Visa and/or Mastercard are also accepted on the website of the Institute (click here).

Early Bird Discount

A special 20% discount on the course fee will be applied to applicants who complete the registration and submit their application by 1 March 2025. Please note that this discount cannot be combined with other offers, if available and/or applicable.

The course will be conducted in English. Simultaneous translation will not be provided.

The official Certificate will be released to partecipants who attend the course in full (including live and self-paced sessions) and undertake and submit all mandatory assignements and self-evaluation tests within the established deadlines

General Information