Kherson museum received Blue Shield protection, its buildings placed under Hague Convention safeguards | Ukraine news

The Blue Shield emblem signals international legal protection for the museum’s buildings after recent damage, and seeks stronger global action to safeguard cultural heritage.

The Kherson Regional Museum has become the Blue Shield international emblem, which signifies that the institution is protected under the provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

This was announced on the museum’s own Facebook page. The post states that from now on the institution’s buildings are under the protection of the aforementioned emblem, confirming the object’s status as cultural property under international law.

Meaning and Implications for the Museum

From today, the buildings of our museum are under the protection of the international recognition sign “Blue Shield” (Blue Shield), provided by the Hague Convention of 1954 on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. The emblem confirms that the object belongs to cultural property that is entitled to special protection under international law, the Kherson Regional Museum’s statement says.

A significant portion of the main building of the museum has sustained serious damage due to shelling and drone attacks by Russian forces.

Trying to justify their war crimes, the occupiers cynically claimed that the historic building of the museum housed “military objects.” However, the whole world knows: the only thing preserved here is our memory, history and culture, the Kherson Regional Museum’s statement says.

The museum staff hope that the international protective emblem will give the global community a clearer understanding of the importance of cultural heritage during armed conflicts, and that civilized countries will respond accordingly.

Blue Shield is not only a symbol of protecting cultural heritage, but also the name of the organization that works to protect museums, archives, libraries, architectural monuments, and other cultural properties during armed conflicts, emergencies, and natural disasters.