The destruction of several historical artefacts in a museum in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) militants is a war crime stated the head of UNESCO, the UN cultural agency.
In a press conference condemning the destruction of statues in Mosul, the Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova said, “I was filled with dismay by images of the attack on the Mosul Museum, as well as on other archaeological sites in the Nineveh region in Iraq.”
Ms Bokova added that under the Rome Statute, the deliberate destruction of cultural is a war crime that could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). She has asked the ICC Chief Prosecutor to investigate the incident, she added.
She went on to say that she could not bear to watch all the footage of IS fighters destroying the artefacts, some of which date back to the 9th century BC.
"This tragedy is far from just a cultural issue: it’s an issue of major security. We see clearly how terrorists use the destruction of heritage in their strategy to destabilize and manipulate populations so that they can assure their own domination," added Ms Bokova, welcoming the "international mobilization" against IS.
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