The Blue Shield aims to protect cultural and heritage sites from attack in times of armed conflict or civil disturbance, and from natural disasters. It also promotes awareness of the importance of preserving heritage sites and their contents in peacetime and during conflict. The basis for the Blue Shield is the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property and its additional first and second protocols. The Blue Shield network, often referred to as the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross, was formed in response to the changes in international law and today works globally to protect cultural heritage in emergency situations. It is a non-governmental, non-profit, international organisation committed to the protection of heritage across the world. https://theblueshield.org/
The Blue Shield is Committed to the protection of the world’s cultural property, and is concerned with the protection of cultural and natural heritage, tangible and intangible, in the event of armed conflict, natural- or human-made disaster. (Article 2.1, Blue Shield Statutes 2016) The Blue Shield network, often referred to as the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross, was formed in response to the changes in international law and today works globally to protect cultural heritage in emergency situations. We are a non-governmental, non-profit, international organisation committed to the protection of heritage across the world. This includes museums, monuments, archaeological sites, archives, libraries and audio-visual material, and significant natural areas, as well as intangible heritage.
The key goals of the Blue Shield are laid out in Article 2 of the Blue Shield 2016 Statutes.
They are to:
- Protect cultural and natural heritage – tangible and intangible – from the effects of conflict and environmental disaster;
- Promote the ratification of, respect for, and implementation of, the 1954 Hague Convention and its two Protocols;
- Raise awareness of the importance of protecting heritage in emergency situations;
- Promote and provide relevant training (to heritage professionals, the armed forces, other emergency responders, and those involved in preventing the illicit trafficking of looted objects);
- Promote community engagement with and participation in protecting cultural property (CP);
- Encourage co-operation with, and between, other relevant entities involved in emergency situations.
The Blue Shield aims to be proactive.
The Blue Shield aims to be proactive, developing and coordinating knowledge and measures wherever possible that prevent or mitigate damage before it can occur. In order to do this, the Blue Shield champions the importance of cultural heritage, raising awareness of its importance to demonstrate that it is not a luxury, and should be given full consideration in line with its place in international law. Blue Shield’s mission and goals are delivered through six areas of activity. With respect to cultural property protection (CPP) in the event of armed conflict and natural/human-made disasters, the Blue Shield works in the areas of:
- Proactive protection and risk preparedness;
- Emergency response;
- Stabilisation, post-disaster recovery, and long-term/ongoing support activities;
- Legal compliance, policy, and their implementation;
- Capacity building activities, and education and training in support of the Blue Shield’s Areas of Activity;
- Co-ordination – of Blue Shield members and with partner organisations.