| It seems inevitable that armed conflict will have a detrimental impact on cultural property. The mitigation of such impact has been discussed for millennia (Miles 2011) and more recently the international community has attempted to limit such damage through treaties and conventions (see, e.g., Boylan 2002). However no overall framework for future co-operation between cultural property experts and the military and relevant governmental authorities and agencies has been developed and, while with a positive eye the relationship could be argued to be improving, the situation can be described, at best, as haphazard, unregulated, and disorganized. The tentative parameters of such a framework, based on a 4-Phase approach - Long term; Immediate pre-deployment; During conflict; Post conflict - have recently been suggested by the author and received with, albeit cautious, support by cultural property experts and the military at specialised meetings in both the USA and Europe. This article notes the work that has been undertaken since 2003 and outlines the 4-phase approach. It is seen as the first step in the development of change in military doctrine for the UK and NATO. |
