Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine call on UNESCO to transfer the 45th session from Russian Kazan to Ukrainian Lviv and to exclude the Russian Federation from the members of the organization. Because, since 2014, Russia has systematically violated international humanitarian law and international conventions.
Every day, beginning from February 24, Russia randomly throws bombs at Ukrainian cities, kills Ukrainians, destroys the homes of civilians. Country-aggressor does not displace attention on sights of architecture and methodically destroys the Ukrainian cultural values. Objects of historical heritage constantly are under threat of artillery fire.
“The country that began war and uses the culture as instrument of propaganda, cannot be a member of UNESCO and influence the organization’s decisions. Because, its actions show that it does not share the statutory goals of UNESCO, but completely opposes them. Russian cultural figures today are the mouthpieces he Kremlin’s destroying propaganda and use hate speech in their rhetoric. Such a state cannot be given the floor to protect culture” – Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy, marked.
The Russian army has already begun to destroy the Tavrian Chersonese and damaged the Bakhchisaray Palace of the Crimean Khans, the only example of Crimean Tatar palace architecture in the world.
It is known about other destruction and eliminations of cultural and historical sights in Ukraine.
We remind, earlier, UNESCO has already called Russians to stop destruction of cultural values in Ukraine. Such a declaration was adopted on March 18 at the second extraordinary meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Russia was also called to adhere to the obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention and to ratify the Second Protocol. But it did not give results.
