Bamiyan Buddha

                                           BEFORE                        AFTER

UNESCO,UN and Afghan cultural heritage

Ellis Cashmore’s article in the Encyclopedia of race and ethnic studies is basically about the history of the two most influential institutions. One of them is known as The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the other is United Nations (UN). The both came in role after the Second World War. UNESCO was established around 1946 in Paris and their general task was “to study and collect scientific materials concerning questions of race; to give wide diffusion to the scientific information collected; to prepare an educational campaign based on this information.” UN was set up around 1945, in succession to the League of Nations and they encourage world peace under the Charter in article 55, which says Un will promote “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to race, sex, language, or religion.” They are both providing support for those in need of them.

On Christian Manhart’s article it tells us how UNESCO is taking every possible route in saving endangered cultural heritages in Afghanistan. They are looking at all aspects to preserve and rebuild cultural sites, with the support of other Great Nations. UNESCO is trying its best to build a link between people and their culture identity. They are helping them be responsible and take ownership of their remains, which represents their cultural inheritance. A citation from UN secretary-General’s dictum, “our challenge is to help the Afghans help themselves”. They are trying to make the Afghans understand how valuable their cultural history is and showing them how to preserve them for future generations. At Bamiyan in 2001, UNESCO sent a mission in restoring the remains of the site, but later concluded that around 80% were missing or looted. They have taken actions in safeguarding the remains. They have been continuously funded by many Great Nations, which helps them help the Afghans train and raise awareness of their culture.

The article by Francesco Francioni and Federico Lenzerini is about the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, which constitutes a violation of International Law. For example the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas violate international law even though it was under the Taliban authority, as it took away the pride and cultural identity of al the Afghans. Therefore many actions can wipe out culture and identity of a race and it usually happens after the country has experienced war. As a result many cultural items can be misplaced and lost and an entire civilization can be mislaid.