The around-the-globe video diffusion of the destruction of the world cultural heritage monuments by Daesh, such as the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, has shocked the entire humanity. Attacks against greatly celebrated cultural sites are pursued by Daesh and other terrorist groups with the aim of erasing the legacies of the cradle of Western culture or to wipe out cultures different from the terrorists own. The remnants of the destructive attacks are then sold by the terrorist group on the international black market of artefacts, which is estimated to be one of the main sources of the group self-financing.
Because of the destruction of the world cultural heritage, the whole humanity feels it has been deprived of part of itself, and this, regardless of the geographical localization of the ruined artefact or of the identification of that cultural property with a given civilization.
How can this universal human feeling be defined in legal terms? Does it give rise to any individual and/or collective
subjective legal situation deserving protection and redress? What tools are available to the international community to fight against thedestruction and loss of antiquities by terrorist groups and to repair damages?
The present proposal suggests a ground-breaking approach to answering these and other connected questions, which consists in intersecting different legal and non-legal disciplines, theoretical paradigms and research methodologies. The fight against cultural terrorism is proving to be an amazing example of the development of a 'global law', meaning the creation and implementation of complementary legal tools, irrespective of their systematic legal provenance. As a concrete outcome, this research will provide a synergic and interactive map of the legal and operational (for purpose of security, anti-smuggling, artefacts restoration) tools, for the use of all interested actors involved, such as institutions, agents, operators, museums, civil society.
Departing from the state-of-art descrived in the above section, the global approach adopted in the present research project is definitely ground-breaking and concrete. This research project aims at filling up the methodological shortcomings described previously and at addressing the many relevant issues anew.
The final targets of this research project are:
1) Theorization of a global fight against cultural terrorism. For the first time ever, the present research will be conducted in-depth across all branches of the law. Therefore, it will be strongly oriented toward legal pluralism. Methodologically, the research will be carried out in a comprehensive, multilayered and systematic way, with the clear purpose of identifying and developing the synergies underpinning both general strategies and specific legal measures counteracting cultural terrorism through an interactive process involving all relevant actors and stake-holders, irrespective of the distinctive legal order (international, national, local) to which they are subject;
2) Realisation of an interactive and multi-layered map of main legal and operative tools available to fight against cultural terrorism. The interactive process mentioned above will not only be used to advance legal reasoning and methodology in theory. It is aimed at drafting a map of most relevant initiatives, both of a legal and implementing character, undertaken to counter cultural terrorism and repare damages provoked, and of all actors involved therein, either international or municipal/local, public and private, governmental and nongovernmental.
The map is intended:
a. to enhance best practices and behaviour patterns;
b. to provide knowledge to the actors themselves with a view to facilitate their task, particularly to those who need information and training, such as, for instance, the military staff. The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, called attention to the urgent need to provide government soldiers, combatants and military lawyers with one unique text easy to understand and easy to teach, instead of the multitude of - often overlapping - legal instruments regarding the protection of cultural property in armed conflict which is very difficult to disentangle (and of course to apply). Other categories of actors include archeologists and restorers, customs officers.
c. to disseminate modules on prevention, safe evacuation, stabilization and protection of world cultural heritage at risk and to distribute first aid instructions for museum collections, techniques for heritage objects salvage, tools and techniques for creating and managing secure databases.