UNESCO grants Enhanced Protection to Lebanon’s endangered heritage amid Israeli airstrikes

AMMAN — UNESCO has stepped in to shield Lebanon’s endangered cultural treasures, granting enhanced protection to 34 sites, including the iconic World Heritage sites of Baalbek and Tyre, amidst escalating Israeli airstrikes. 

This decision, made during an extraordinary session of UNESCO’s Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in Paris, provides these sites with the highest level of immunity under international law. 

This emergency measure, requested by Lebanese authorities, comes amidst growing alarm from Heritage experts and Lebanese officials, over the escalating damage. 

Recent images shared on social media have depicted black smoke rising behind Baalbek’s Roman columns, with Israeli airstrikes reported less than a kilometre away. 

Ahead of the UNESCO special session, over 300 cultural and archaeological experts petitioned for urgent action to protect Lebanese heritage. They urged UNESCO to establish “no-target” zones around cultural sites, deploy international observers, and enforce measures under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. 

This advocacy helped secure the inclusion of 34 Lebanese cultural properties on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection, granting them “high-level immunity from military attacks,” according to UNESCO. 

Culture under threat

The UNESCO-listed Roman temple complex in Baalbek, one of the biggest Roman temples ever built and one of the best preserved, faces immediate peril. Israeli evacuation orders for Baalbek and its surroundings have heightened fears for the triad of Roman temples and other historical sites in the Bekaa Valley, as the evacuation map published on the Israeli army’s social media included the UNESCO site. 

According to Baalbek Governor Bachir Khodr, airstrikes landed within 500 to 700 metres from the citadel. He warned that even indirect effects, such as shockwaves and smoke, could damage the archaeological stones. 

In addition, Lebanese media have reported the destruction of two historical walls, dating back to the Ottoman and French Mandate periods, in the ancient city, marking the first time since the escalation of the conflict on October 7, 2023 that Israeli bombings have come so close to the citadel of Baalbek. 

However, Baalbek is not the only site in danger. The NGO Heritage for Peace has documented additional damage across Lebanon, including the Ottoman souks of Nabatiyeh, Saint George’s Church in Derdghaya, and the Ottoman mosque of Kfar Tebnit.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has also raised alarms about threats to other heritage sites, such as Anjar, Tyre, and Wadi Qadisha. 

Emergency conference in Paris 

Currently, Lebanon has six sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Anjar, Baalbek, Byblos, Wadi Qadisha, Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli and Tyre. 

In an extraordinary session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict held on Monday, UNESCO responded to Lebanon’s appeal by granting enhanced protection to 34 cultural sites. 

These 34 cultural properties now benefit from the highest level of immunity against attack and use for military purposes. Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute “serious violations of the 1954 Hague Convention and would constitute potential grounds for prosecution,” according to UNESCO. 

The sites placed under enhanced protection will receive technical and financial assistance from UNESCO to reinforce their legal protections, improve risk anticipation and management measures, and provide further training for site managers in this area.