UNESCO/Lebanon – Enhanced protection for 34 Lebanese archaeological sites (November 19, 2024)

France applauds the November 18, 2024, decision made by the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict to grant enhanced protection to 34 Lebanese archaeological sites, including five properties on the World Heritage List: the Neolithic site of Byblos; the Roman remains of Tyre, Baalbek, and Anjar; and the International Fair of Tripoli. France hails this unanimous decision, which grants these sites full, effective immunity, in keeping with the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which forbids making such sites a target or using them in support of military action.

Faced with the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon beginning in September, France expresses its deep concern regarding the serious, immediate danger facing Lebanon’s cultural heritage. France reiterates that the 1954 Convention must be complied with by all of the stakeholders in the conflict, including Israel.

As it has previously stated before the UN Security Council, France recalls that the destruction of heritage fuels violence, hatred, and vengeance among peoples. France calls on all of the stakeholders to protect cultural heritage from the consequences of any ongoing conflicts and to immediately cease all acts of hostility in the surroundings of Lebanese cultural heritage properties. As a UNESCO host country, France supports the organization’s role in promoting international peace and security.

Thanks to the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH), which France created with the United Arab Emirates in March 2017, France helps to protect heritage in conflict zones and post-conflict situations, especially in Lebanon.

France continues to work toward obtaining a ceasefire in Lebanon as soon as possible.