Abu Dhabi meeting approves fund to protect heritage sites in war zones
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French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech during the closing ceremony of an international conference on protecting the world's cultural heritage on Dec 3, 2016.
PHOTO: AFP
ABU DHABI (AFP) - Representatives of around 40 countries on Saturday (Dec 3) approved plans to establish a fund to protect heritage sites in war zones and a network of safe havens for endangered artworks.
"We are committed to pursuing (these) two ambitious, long-term goals to guarantee the further mobilisation of the international community for the safeguarding of heritage," a statement issued after a two-day meeting in the United Arab Emirates capital said.
The meeting's Emirati and French co-sponsors had set a US$100 million target for the fund but the statement did not specify how much had been pledged.
France, which along with the United Arab Emirates is spearheading the initiative, said it would contribute around US$30 million.
From Syria to Mali, Afghanistan to Iraq, terrorists have targeted priceless cultural heritage sites that they deem un-Islamic.
The world watched in dismay as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria extremists systematically destroyed monuments in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra which they seized in 2015.
In Iraq, videos showed ISIS using bulldozers and explosives to destroy Nimrud, a jewel of the Assyrian empire south of Mosul, and ransacking pre-Islamic treasures in Mosul's museum.