The United Nations Office at Geneva
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Since the Middle East war started on 28 February, several sites of major cultural significance have come under attack in Israel, Iran and Lebanon. Ensuring their protection is the task of the UN agency for education, science and culture, UNESCO.
At the request of the Lebanese Government, UNESCO placed 39 World Heritage sites under so-called “enhanced protection”.
But what is “enhanced protection” and what can the UN agency do to help in times of war? To help answer these questions, UN news talked to Krista Pikkat, Director of Culture and Emergencies Entity at UNESCO.
Living heritage of the communities under threat:
UNESCO has repeatedly warned about the impact of the hostilities on the region’s very rich and diverse cultural heritage. Since the outbreak of the war, UNESCO has received reports of damage to more than 20 different cultural sites which include the World Heritage Sites and other sites of national importance.
“We verify the reports that we receive from different sources, either through satellite images, by analyzing the before and after images, or through on-site inspections,” explained Ms. Pikkat.
UNESCO has now confirmed damage to five cultural properties in the region, including a synagogue, the Golestan palace, the Sa'dabad palace and the old Senat palace – all in Iran - along with Tyre in Lebanon where UNESCO has confirmed damage. “It's the living heritage of the communities that is under threat,” Ms. Pikkat stressed.
Lebanon and the “enhanced protection”:
Lebanon has 39 sites on UNESCO’s “enhanced protection” list, the most of any country.
“Enhanced protection is the highest level of international legal protection that exists” under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention, Ms. Pikkat explained. “It’s granted to sites that are of greatest importance to humanity and it provides them with the highest level of immunity from military attacks.”
Any State or party not complying with the Convention could be guilty of a war crime.
In Lebanon, UNESCO works closely with Lebanese authorities, especially the Directorate General of Antiquities, providing technical advice and support for emergency cultural heritage protection. This includes training, emergency inventories, safeguarding measures, rehabilitating storage sites, evacuation guidelines for movable heritage, and marking protected sites with the Blue Shield emblem to ensure their protection.
Culturally significant:
Particularly during conflict, UNESCO urges restraint and protection for educational, cultural, media and scientific institutions, as they form the foundation of future societies.
The UN agency insists that in times of war, culture and heritage define people’s identity, providing comfort and support to communities.
When these key building blocks of society are targeted, their destruction deepens trauma, fuels resentment, and hinders recovery and dialogue, UNESCO says.
“We shouldn't only consider culture as something that is fragile and needs protection,” Ms. Pikkat insists. “Culture is also a source of resilience. It's also an economic asset for recovery and peacebuilding.”
ends
STORY: World Heritage protection during the war in the Middle East
TRT: 03:35’’
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: For B-roll please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 APRIL 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley.
2. SOUNDBITE (English) – Krista Pikkat Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, Culture Sector in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): “UNESCO has confirmed damage to five cultural properties in the region. Two of them are World Heritage Sites, and three are of national importance. You mentioned, for instance, the Golestan palace in Tehran, which is a World Heritage property, but there are other palaces, like Sa'dabad or the old Senat palace in Tehran that have been verified by UNESCO as damaged. As well as a synagogue in Tehran, but also the World Heritage Property Tyre in Lebanon that we have been able to verify.”
3. Various photos of UNESCO world heritage sites in Tyre in Lebanon adding a sign with UNESCO's "blue shield". March 2025. Please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
4. SOUNDBITE (English) – Krista Pikkat Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, Culture Sector in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): “We verify the reports that we receive from different sources, either through satellite images, by analyzing the before and after images, or through on-site inspections.”
5. Various photos of UNESCO in different heritage sites in Lebanon (Tyre, Chamaa Citadel and Baalbeck) with signs of the UNESCO's "blue shield". March 2025. Please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
6. SOUNDBITE (English) – Krista Pikkat Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, Culture Sector in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): “When culture is deliberately targeted, we see also that it deepens the trauma and it fuels resentment. It also makes the after-war or after-conflict resilience and dialogue more difficult. And also, of course, we shouldn't only consider culture as something that is fragile and needs protection. Culture is also a source of resilience. It's also an economic asset for recovery and peacebuilding.”
7. Various photos of UNESCO world heritage sites in Lebanon (Tyre, Chamaa Citadel and Baalbeck) with signs of UNESCO's "blue shield". March 2025. Please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
8. SOUNDBITE (English) – Krista Pikkat Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, Culture Sector in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): “Already in 2024, Lebanon requested, the inscription of 34 of their sites under enhanced protection. And now in, on the 1st of April, we had another request pertaining to 39 additional Lebanese sites, that were put on a provisional basis on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.”
9. Various photos of UNESCO world heritage sites in Lebanon (Chamaa Citadel and Baalbeck) with signs of UNESCO's "blue shield". March 2025. Please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
10. SOUNDBITE (English) – Krista Pikkat Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, Culture Sector in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): “Enhanced protection is the highest level of international legal protection that exists. As I said, under the Second Protocol, or the Hague Convention, it's granted to sites that are of greatest importance to humanity, and it provides them with the highest level of immunity from military attacks.”
11. Various photos of UNESCO world heritage sites in Tyre, Lebanon with signs of UNESCO's "blue shield". March 2025. Please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
12. SOUNDBITE (English) – Krista Pikkat Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, Culture Sector in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): “It's also, of course, a call on the international society to protect these sites from military targets. And if this happens, this constitutes a serious violation and may amount to a war crime”.
13. Various photos of UNESCO world heritage sites in Lebanon (Qalaat Al Chakif or Beaufort Castle and Tyre). March 2025. Please credit © UNESCO/Maïssa Acheuk-Youcef.
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