The ICCROM Council 

  • Recognizes that Council members’ role is to serve in our personal, professional capacity in the best interests of ICCROM and its mandate to contribute to the worldwide conservation and restoration of cultural property;
  • Expresses Council’s grave concern on the impact of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine on the wellbeing of people and cultural heritage;
  • Expresses Council’s apprehension on the devastating effects of the conflict on the immovable heritage, including buildings, sites, monuments, and landscapes; movable heritage, including museum collections and objects located in other places; and intangible heritage, including traditional knowledge systems, rituals, and festivals; and all other aspects of cultural heritage that underpin the health of communities and people in the areas of conflict;
  • Takes note of the Resolution adopted on 2 March 2022 by the United Nations General Assembly at its 11th Emergency Special Session (A/RES/ES-11/1); the Decision adopted by the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 7th Special Session on 30 March 2022; key international instruments such as the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols (1954 and 1999) and the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, as well as other international instruments;
  • Recognizes that First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAR), one of ICCROM’s flagship programmes, provides capacity building for professionals to prepare for times of crisis, including conflict, and that ICCROM has produced a number of publications to aid in that capacity building;
  • Expresses support for ICCROM’s ongoing efforts to work with professionals on the ground in Ukraine to provide online capacity-building activities to deal with the ongoing crisis in Ukraine regarding cultural heritage, including translation of publications into Ukrainian;
  • Stresses that ICCROM is working with Partner organizations, such as UNESCO and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to address issues related to the effects of conflict on cultural heritage;
  • Calls for an immediate cessation of the armed conflict in Ukraine, especially as the conflict impacts people and their cultural heritage in all its forms; 
  • Requests that the Director-General continue ICCROM’s work, in collaboration with Partner organizations and with professionals on the ground in Ukraine, to provide capacity and to aid in assessment of damage, risk, and needs for the ongoing conservation and restoration of cultural heritage affected by the conflict; 
  • Further requests that the Director-General actively monitor the situation and apprise Council and ICCROM Member States regarding ongoing efforts by ICCROM and Partner organizations for the protection and conservation of the cultural heritage of Ukraine, including any recommendations for further steps that ICCROM can take within the scope of ICCROM’s mandate.

This resolution was adopted by Council on 4 May 2022 by the following vote:  14 yea votes, 0 nay votes, and 11 abstentions.