International Accountability

All peoples have contributed to building world culture, and so the protection of cultural heritage is thus an international responsibility. Part of UNESCO’s mission is to establish principles, laws, and treaties that uphold this universal expectation, and to keep countries in equal conversation with one another. Still, the mistreatment of historical sites and artefacts persists.

Repatriation is an ongoing issue with problems rooted in national identity and an international neglect of it. Sometimes the loss of objects happens in a secretive and untraceable way, such as in the case of blood antiquities from Syria all the way to New York, and other times this problem takes place on a global stage, as the controversy regarding the British Museum’s possession of the Parthenon Marbles has illustrated. Whether on the micro or macro level, the persistence of this problem relates to the fact that there is oftentimes a lack of international accountability following the exchange of these objects. Other times, neglect for the protection of cultural heritage occurs within a nation’s borders. Although the conversion crisis of Hagia Sophias within Turkey is an intranational problem, there needs to be pressure from the international community to ultimately ensure the protection of these spaces. Without some kind of external consequence, these monuments will continue to decline. Disregarding principles for protecting culture results in its deterioration. It is crucial that nations continue to respect not only the laws established by UNESCO, but also cultural heritage itself.