UAE pledges $15m to protect monuments endangered by war

Abu Dhabi - The event follows the International Conference on Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas.

The UAE announced it will contribute $USD15 million (Dh55,084,000) to help protect endangered cultural heritage and historical property around the world, which are endangered due to conflict and war. 
On Monday, Lieutenant General, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, met with French President Francois Hollande at the co-chaired the Donors' Conference, held in Paris, marking the establishment of the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH).
The event follows the International Conference on Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas, which took place in Abu Dhabi on December last year.
December's conference concluded with the Abu Dhabi Declaration, in which the international community pledged to create an international support fund for programmes aimed at safeguarding cultural heritage.
On Monday, leaders and government officials representing various states, met in Louvre Museum, Paris, and discussed the financial projects for the implementation of preventive emergency protection.
"Since the Abu Dhabi conference, we have made huge strides towards the development of a robust strategy to ensure that the catastrophic destruction of priceless cultural artefacts are preserved for future generations," said Sheikh Saif.
"It is a great achievement to see that the strategies set out in the Abu Dhabi Declaration (3 December 2016) materialise as impactful and sustainable means to safeguard cultural resources," he added.
So far, a grand total of $USD75 million was pledged by countries, foundations and private donors.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and a special representative of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to ALIPH, also attended the meeting in Paris.
He told Khaleej Times the programme is a crucial step forward in helping protect and preserve historic sites, which are currently facing danger and destruction.
"This foundation has now been established as the backbone to attract, leverage, manage and invest resources for the implementation of a preventive and emergency protection programmes for cultural property in danger of destruction, damage or looting due to armed conflict."
Key actions resulting from these donations made to ALIPH will drive advancements in inventorying of cultural property, monitoring its state of conservation, planning risk preparedness to effectively respond to threats to cultural property.
"The foundation will contribute to the rehabilitation of cultural heritage, as well as building capacity for professionals working in these situations," added Al Mubarak.
Pledges were also made from France for $USD30 million, Saudi Arabia for $USD20 million, Kuwait for $USD5 million, Luxembourg for 3 million Euros, Morocco for $USD1.5 million, as well as a private donation of $USD1 million, which came from Thomas Kaplan. Morocco also announced its will to join the network of safe havens.
In addition, Italy announced its commitment to continue the work of its task force to train police, curators and restorers and its determination in bringing the project of a resolution forward, with France, to the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, Germany pledged expertise to mobilising the fund and Switzerland pledged its support in enabling ALIPH's establishment in Switzerland, as a humanitarian endeavor.
Mexico announced their commitment to investigating further support from countries in North and South America, as well as possibilities of creating safe havens.
China also unveiled that it will be the first Asian country to respond to the call of the Abu Dhabi Declaration, and make the China National Museum a safe haven to temporarily host endangered material culture in conflict zones from across the world.
- jasmine@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi