UNESCO has granted enhanced protection status to two Ukrainian heritage sites affected by the ongoing war.
Amidst the Russian attack on Ukraine which has continued for almost three years, the cultural wing of the United Nations has granted special status to the Odessa Literary Museum and the National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar. In a statement, UNESCO said: “Cultural property under the enhanced protection of UNESCO benefits from the highest level of immunity from attack and use for military purposes. Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute a ‘serious violation’ of the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention, opening the possibility of prosecution.”
The National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar commemorates the Jews, as well as Roma and Soviet prisoners, killed by the Nazis in just two days in 1941. The monument has stood as a major memorial of the Holocaust not just for Ukrainians, but all Europeans. In March 2022, a missile attack by Russia damaged a nearby building and killed 5 people.
The Odessa Literary Museum was founded in 1977 and houses a huge collection of Russian literature from various eras. While not directly damaged, the city of Odessa itself – a UNESCO World Heritage site – has been the subject of missile attacks since the start of the war.
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In February, UNESCO released a report revealing that 341 sites of cultural importance, including religious and historical significance – had been damaged since the war broke out in February 2022. Later, the organization also announced a $10 million grant for rehabitilation of the aforementioned affected sites.