Islamic State: Cultural Heritage

(asked on 13th October 2015) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent ISIL from destroying valuable historical sites in Palmyra and elsewhere.


Answered by
Tobias Ellwood Portrait
Tobias Ellwood
This question was answered on 21st October 2015

The UK strongly condemns ISIL’s wanton destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq, including in Palmyra. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office helped secure UN Security Council Resolution 2199 which obliges all UN Member States to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property that has been illegally removed from those countries.

But strong words and legal frameworks are not enough. As a key player in the Global Counter ISIL Coalition, the UK is committed to degrading and defeating ISIL, including through military action. By checking ISIL’s advance, the Coalition’s air campaign and support for partner military forces in Iraq and Syria has had the effect of protecting key historical sites in both countries. However, there is inevitably a limit to what we can do. The only way of safeguarding all historic sites from ISIL is by defeating them politically and militarily. That requires continued effort by the Global Coalition, as well as a more inclusive political settlement in Iraq, and an end to the conflict in Syria.

On 28 October I will be co-hosting a summit with the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Maldon (Mr Whittingdale) on Cultural Heritage Protection.

Reticulating Splines