Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill [HL]

Lord Foster of Bath Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

My Lords, on these Benches, we welcome and support the Bill. We recognise that our country behaves, in many ways, as if the Bill had already been enacted. We note, for example, that the Government have said:

“Our Armed Forces already act as though bound by the Hague convention, and … the Hague convention and its protocols already inform our Armed Forces’ law of armed conflict doctrine and training policy, particularly with regard to respect for cultural property, precautions in attack and recognition of the blue shield”.—[Official Report, 14/1/16; col. 501.]

We also appreciate that our abiding at least by the spirit of the convention is bolstered by the work of the joint military cultural protection working group, and it was good to hear just now from the Minister how this work is progressing. It is also bolstered by the UK’s efforts in sponsoring UN Resolution 2199 to support steps to prevent Daesh benefiting from the trade in antiquities from Iraq and Syria and by the £3 million provided for the Iraqi emergency heritage management project run by the British Museum, which is doing excellent work in this area. It is also bolstered by the work of the Metropolitan Police Art and Antiques Unit, by the £30 million to be made available through the new and welcome cultural protection fund and by the work of the UK National Committee of the Blue Shield, ably led by Professor Peter Stone.

All of these already give some credibility to our country’s claim to be concerned about the protection of cultural property in times of armed conflict. However, our failure up to this point to ratify the 1954 Hague convention or the 1954 and 1999 protocols has limited that credibility. Commenting on the announcement, somewhat hidden in the Queen’s Speech, of the intention to bring forward this legislation, Peter Stone pointed out that when, in 2003, coalition forces invaded Iraq, neither the United States nor the UK had ratified the convention, but that in 2009 at least the United States did so and that now, as he put it, the,

“UK is arguably the most significant military power (and the only one with extensive military involvement abroad) not to have ratified”,

the convention. He went on to say that,

“the UK is finally on the verge of joining the international community in recognising the value and importance of cultural property to local, national and international communities and their identities”.

In short, the swift passage of this Bill will strengthen our credibility and legitimacy when we seek to work alongside others to prevent the destruction of cultural property and will help us in raising awareness of the need to do so. But as the Minister herself acknowledged, it has been a long time coming, despite promises from many existing and former Ministers and support for action from all three of the major political parties, including my own, represented in your Lordships’ House. It is worth reflecting that all three of those major political parties have had periods in government and have all failed to act since the first draft Bill back in 2004. So it is to the credit of the current Government that we now have the Bill before us. Of course, I accept that they have been spurred into action by some recent events, not least the wanton destruction by Daesh of antiquities in Iraq and then in Syria and the murder of 82 year-old Khaled al-Assad, the curator of important cultural sites in Palmyra. As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Portsmouth said in January,

“these atrocities do more than inflict physical damage. They are a callous assault on the dignity and identity of people, their communities, and their religious and historical roots.”.—[Official Report, 14/1/16; col. 492.]

If the Government were spurred on by atrocities, by such acts of cultural vandalism, and by the public reaction to them, credit must also be given to the pressure that has come from parliamentarians in both Houses through, for example, the newly formed All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and pressure from individuals such as the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, to whom I pay especial tribute for the work she has done in this area, the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, my noble friend Lord Redesdale and many others. They all deserve our thanks.

The measures in the Bill have been clearly set out by the Minister and do not need repeating. I congratulate her and officials in her department for the particularly helpful Explanatory Memorandum. The section entitled “Legal background” makes it very clear why existing UK laws are not sufficient to meet in full the obligations set out in the convention and its protocols and why, while already meeting the spirit, we need to pass this Bill to ensure that we are also meeting the letter of the convention. As the Minister has already made clear, it will show how serious we are about protecting cultural property in times of armed conflict, with the penalty for intentional damage being raised from the current maximum of two years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine to up to 30 years’ maximum imprisonment.

In welcoming the Bill, I ask the Minister three brief questions. First, in January, when asked about the need for increased funding for the Metropolitan Police Art and Antiques Unit, the Minister replied:

“I have explained … that the police budget has been protected, and I take the point that the House thinks that more resources should be spent on this. I will certainly think about that.”.—[Official Report, 14/1/16; cols. 502-3.]

Can the Minister tell us where that thinking has led her? Are additional resources to be found?

Secondly, when enacted the legislation will require the UK to identify what cultural property in the UK will be afforded general and what will be afforded enhanced protection in the event of armed conflict. In January, the Minister said the Government were already working on a statement that would set out their approach to the identification process. I am aware of the work being done by the department and agencies such as Historic England, but that has mainly focused on the enhanced list. Can the Minister update us on this work? In particular, can she tell us how world heritage sites will be treated, not least those such as the world heritage city of Bath—my former constituency—and the frontiers of the Roman empire, which cover very significant areas? Can she also tell us whether scheduled ancient monuments will be considered for inclusion in the general protection list, bearing in mind that, to the surprise of many, they were excluded from the 2008 recommendations of the House of Commons DCMS Select Committee?

Finally, when that committee, then chaired by the current Secretary of State, scrutinised the 2008 draft Bill on which the Bill before us is based it sought to establish whether it,

“would constrain military operations unduly, for instance by limiting troops’ freedom to protect themselves when coming under fire from opposing forces based in a museum or mosque”.

The committee concluded that the passage of that Bill into law would not impose such a constraint. Can the Minister assure us that both she and the Ministry of Defence have the same view in relation to the current Bill?

The Bill has been far too long in coming. I hope that it will now have a speedy passage through your Lordships’ House and the other place so that our country can have the credibility and legitimacy it needs to work with others to provide the protection of cultural property in times of armed conflict and to persuade others of the need to do so.