Convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. The third asiapacific conference on underwater cultural heritage will be held in hong kong at the hong kong maritime museum from 27 november to 2 december 2 017 excursions 12 december. Defining underwater cultural heritage defining underwater cultural heritage forrest, craig j. The underwater cultural heritage is at risk from the increasing use of sophisticated technology for the commercial exploitation of shipwrecks, the lack of awareness of its cultural potential and complacency about the size of the resource of underwater sites.
The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage, adopted in 2001, is intended to enable states to better protect their submerged cultural heritage. Internationally, the united states strongly supported the convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage which would be developed under the auspices of unesco convention and would, inter alia. Section on international law and practice, american bar association the exploration of underwater archaeological sites including shipwrecks and other evidence of human existence presents a variety of fascinating and complicated legal. The conference has grown significantly since 2011 when 128 delegates from 35 nations attended in manila and in 2014 when 180 delegates attended representing 40 nations. Unesco manual for activities directed at underwater cultural. Nov 11, 20 unesco manual for activities directed at underwater cultural heritage 05. The unesco convention on underwater cultural heritage and the. The status of this document was confirmed in 2001 when it was incorporated as the annex to the unesco international convention for the protection of underwater cultural heritage. The valletta convention is an international legally binding treaty within europe.
Ulrike guerin, editor of the manual for activities directed at underwater cultural heritage. Waters and the 2001 unesco convention chapter pdf available january 2014 with 351 reads how we measure reads. Ensuring the preservation of submerged treasures for the. Underwater cultural heritage and international law by sarah. Underwater cultural heritage shall not be traded, sold, bought or bartered as commercial goods.
On top of that, ther e is the search for documented wrecks and document ed episodes in national history. The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage is the foremost international treaty concerning submerged heritage adopted by the unesco general conference in 2001. A commentary on the unesco convention on underwater cultural. The protection of underwater cultural heritage program report of the rapporteur spring meeting 2003, washington d. The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater. National perspectives in light of the unesco convention 2001, 2nd ed. The 2001 convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Euunesco information meeting on underwater cultural heritage. The unesco conventionon underwater cultural heritage and the. Article 4 states that any activity relating to underwater cultural heritage should not be subject to the law of salvage or law of finds, unless authorised by the competent authorities.
Underwater cultural heritage and international law the unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage 2001, which entered into force internationally in 2009, is designed to deal with threats to underwater cultural heritage arising as a result of advances in deepwater technology. Introduction in a historic moment that culminated almost a decade of negotiations, the convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage uch convention was adopted on 2 november 2001. The unesco conventionon underwater cultural heritage and. This information kit was produced with the principal aim of promoting this convention and encouraging countries to join the ranks of its states parties.
The us had one of the largest delegations and perhaps the most controversial, as in addition to representatives of various government agencies, museums, archaeological institutions and recreational dive organizations, it also included representatives of the. Unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. It places the revised convention in the framework of activities of the council of europe concerning the cultural heritage since the european cultural convention came into force. Article 7 underwater cultural heritage in internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea 1.
Secretariat of the of the unesco convention on the. States parties, in the exercise of their sovereignty, have the exclusive right to regulate and authorize activities directed at underwater cultural heritage in their internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea. Pdf study on protection of underwater cultural heritage in. The conference is a forum for discussion of technical and ethical issues related to underwater cultural heritage and underwater archaeology. Today underwater cultural heritage is however endangered and still insufficiently protected, known and researched. Ensuring the preservation of submerged treasures for the next. Feb 15, 2010 sets out basic principles for the protection of underwater cultural heritage. Unescos convention on the protection of the underwater. Southeast asia ministries of culture met to discuss the safeguarding and reviving the shared maritime and underwater cultural heritage of southeast asia. Title, convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Over a period of almost fifty years, the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation has adopted five international conventions that attempt to protect this cultural heritage. Its most important tool to do so is the convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage of 2001. Oct 29, 2019 a small bell taken by global marine exploration found off the coast of the dominican republic.
Michael flecker took this photograph of part of the wreck of the vessel in 1998. Underwater cultural heritage united nations educational. It was followed by the 1972 world heritage convention whc. Icuch international scientific committee on underwater cultural heritage. Unescos convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage, five years on. Pdf the unesco 2001 convention on the protection of the.
Improving the protection of underwater cultural heritage. At present, broadly speaking, anyone is free to recover sunken property on the. The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage 2001, which entered into force internationally in 2009, is designed to deal with threats to underwater cultural heritage arising as a result of advances in deepwater technology. The protection of the underwater cultural heritage. On november 2, 2001, the unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage was adopted by the plenary session of the general conference. Tanzanian maritime and underwater cultural heritages. The 2017 conference will discuss among other topics issues associated with the ratification of the unesco convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage 2001. The asia society has managed to avoid the scorn of underwater heritage preservers and exhibit objects from the tang shipwreck. There are also sunken ruins and cities, like the remains of the pharos. Earlier attempts to display these objects by the smithsonian in 2011 were cancelled because archaeologists argued the archaeological documentation of the. It was until rescently that the country has started some initiatives to identify and manage her maritime and underwater heritage assets.
The legal protection of the underwater cultural heritage is a field in which there is growing international interest. The 1992 treaty aims to protect the european archaeological heritage as a source of european collective memory and as an instrument for historical and scientific study. International committee on the underwater cultural heritage. Underwater heritage maritime and underwater cultural.
The draft was forwarded to unesco for consideration and formed the original basis for discussion leading to the convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Underwater cultural heritage consultancy extended and. Pdf the 2001 unescoconvention on the protection of the. The unesco conventionon underwater cultural heritage and the international law of the sea markus rau i. Acknowledging that the importance of underwater cultural heritage as an integral part. The completed document became known as the international charter on the protection and management of underwater cultural heritage and was adopted by icomos in 1996. The convention is intended to protect all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character which have been under water. Information brochure on the 2001 convention pdf frequently asked questions pdf learn about the convention. The commercial exploitation of underwater cultural heritage for trade or speculation or its irretrievable dispersal is fundamentally incompatible with the protection and proper management of underwater cultural heritage. The current situation of maritime cultural property under the interna tional law of the sea 1. This electronic tutorial shall give guidance for the application of the. Underwater cultural heritage encompasses all traces of human existence that lie or have lain underwater and have a cultural or historical character. The richness of the worlds underwater cultural heritage is often underesti mated. The emphasis of jnapcs work so far had been on legislation within uk territorial waters over which the uk government has sovereignty and jurisdiction to control activities directed at underwater cultural heritage.
International committee on the underwater cultural. Euunesco information meeting on underwater cultural. The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage hereinafter unesco 2001 convention is unescos main tool to improve legal and operational protection of. Cultural heritage herein after the uch convention was prepared and adopted with the main goals to complement the provisions in unclos for strengthening uch protection. Underwater cultural heritage illicit cultural property. Defining underwater cultural heritage, international. Unesco, manual for activities directed at underwater cultural heritage, paris. Shipwrecks and other underwater cultural remains in every maritime zone are threatened both by activities directed at them, such as treasure hunting, and by activities incidentally affecting them, such as mineral exploration and exploitation, pipeline and cable.
The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage is the international communitys response to the destruction of submerged archaeological sites by treasurehunters and industrial activities. International law and the protection of cultural heritage. Niue ratifies unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Unesco manual for activities directed at underwater. Convention on the protection of the underwater cultural.
Research underwater cultural heritage asia pacific. Unesco convention on the protection of the underwater heritage. Table summarizing benefits and limits of unmanaged free access sites 31. The valletta treaty formally the european convention on the protection of the archaeological heritage revised, also known as the malta convention is a multilateral treaty of the council of europe. Underwater cultural heritage and international law by. Convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage, in. The inclusion of underwater cultural heritage is suggested, as this heritage provides the.
Secretariat of the of the unesco convention on the protection. Unesco convention on the protection of the underwater. Activities, such as intergovernmental meetings, regional trainings and technical assistance missions as well as awarenessraising campaigns are scheduled to further the protection of underwater cultural heritage worldwide. She was supported by the able arturo da silva as organizer and facilitator. This is done by the established maritime and underwater cultural heritage much program which officially started in february 2009. Underwater cultural heritage sustainable development. Convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage paris, 2 november 2001. Study on protection of underwater cultural heritage in u. Cambridge university press 9780521842310 underwater. The 1982 united nations convention on the law of the sea. The 1954 hague convention and its two 1954 and 1999 protocols duration. The protection of underwater cultural heritage program e. Underwater cultural heritage can provide vital evidence about how human populations have adapted to, or been affected by climate changes in the past. Lydia barbashriley, a student and editorinchief of the indiana journal of global legal studies has an interesting piece examining the impact of globalization on underwater cultural heritage management in the dominican republic.
The worlds cultural heritage is under threat from war, illicit trafficking, social and economic upheaval, unregulated excavation and neglect. Pdf ethics, underwater cultural heritage, and international law. The 14 chapters of this manual explain the annex of the unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage 2001 and illustrate the 36 rules concerning activities directed at underwater cultural heritage. The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage hereinafter unesco 2001 convention is unescos main tool to. Pdf study on protection of underwater cultural heritage. The protection of underwater cultural heritage in international law lowell bautista1 1. Underwater cultural heritage world underwater federation. Cultural property protection laws, regulations and rules cultural property, protection of foreign investment laws social aspects investments marine salvage salvage shipwrecks underwater archaeology. Introduction in november 2001, a new weapon was added to the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisations2 arsenal used to protect and preserve the worlds cultural heritage, in the form of the convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. Towards ratification australias underwater cultural heritage. This includes three million shipwrecks such as titanic, belitung and the 4,000 shipwrecks of the sunken fleet of kublai khan.
The case for using the law of salvage to preserve underwater. Underwater cultural heritage consultancy extended and updated. The convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage is a treaty that was adopted on 2 november 2001 by the general conference of the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization unesco. Government free to take a more considered look at the protection of underwater cultural heritage in the future. Pdf on jan 1, 2007, thijs j maarleveld and others published the 2001 unescoconvention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage. The unesco convention on the protection of the underwater cultural heritage, adopted by the unesco general conference in 2001, intends to enable states to better protect their underwater heritage. International protection of underwater cultural heritage.
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