According to ISNA, the World Council of Museums (ICOM) made a statement on the current state of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. The matter referred to has recently been threatened by the rise of the Taliban.
“In recent days, ICOM and the international community of Afghanistan have many concerns. the World Council of Museums is particularly concerned about the threat against Afghan civilians, men, and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting the rich and diverse cultural heritage of this historic nation.
The International Council of Museums expects all authorities throughout Afghanistan to respect the integrity of museums, their collections, and heritage sites, as well as heritage experts who have protected this tangible and intangible heritage, regardless of political, gender, or ethnic issues.
In addition, we expect the authorities to continue their international obligations to protect heritage, as a party to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property and its Protocols under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Prohibition of the Export and Transfer of Illegal Property Ownership. Be culturally committed.
Observing recent events, ICOM recalls the painful challenges that the people of Afghanistan have faced in the past decades to protect their past. Many men and women who seek to protect Afghanistan’s cultural heritage have risked their lives in this way. Criminal organizations have profited from the sale of looted objects and illegal excavations in Afghanistan, and irreversible heritage sites have been damaged.
Along with many other international organizations, they also have stood by the Afghan people during these terrible crises to protect their heritage from all threats.
In the 1990s, the World Council of Museums held workshops to highlight the looted heritage of museums, and in the 2000s published a list of cultural objects at risk for Afghanistan. The efforts of ICOM and the museum community to combat the illegal smuggling of cultural property from Afghanistan and to raise awareness are still visible.
Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage and Museums Are in Danger