UNESCO offers support to protect Libyan Heritage

Libyans are being warned to guard against looting of their cultural heritage amid the country’s turmoil.

The director of the UN cultural agency is also cautioning the international art and antiquities trade to be “particularly wary of objects from Libya in the present circumstances” because they might be stolen.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement that she contacted authorities in Libya and neighbouring countries to urge them “to protect Libya’s invaluable cultural heritage.”

She warned that past conflicts have led to looting and damage to artefacts and archaeological treasures.

Practice shows that there is a serious threat of destructions during revolutions. This fact has taught us to thoroughly see after destruction of ancient monuments made by unprincipled people and often cause damage to their integrity. Precipitate mediators who buy things of such origin and their fragments in fact ,provoke further plunder. That is why it is very important that international ancient monument trading is presently very watchful to things from Libya”.

She offered UNESCO to assist in estimation of damage caused to some of five World Heritage monuments at Libyan territory and preparation of plans on provision of their security as soon as it is possible.

Ruins of Roman cities are among the five sites in Libya classified by the Paris-based UN Educational, Science and Cultural Organisation as World Heritage sites.


Past Horizons

Leptis Magna Theatre. Image Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0