Iran and the Protection of Cultural Heritage
Cultural heritage is considered an extremely important part of society. While this is taken very seriously in many aspects of one’s life, many disagree and fight against keeping cultural heritage alive. Because terrorists and traffickers highly target cultural heritage, it is important for the organizations involved in the “protecting cultural heritage” initiative to continue and pursue the resolutions that have been decided upon to keep cultural heritage protected and seen as an important part of life for many (Nurki, 2015). During the world war I, the cultural heritage of France and Belgium was destroyed, during the conflict, the cathedral of Rheims was destroyed. Several years later, after the world war, countries like Iran are still the destruction of their cultural heritage (Craig, 2014). This research paper aims to comprehend how far Iran has come with the resolutions they have taken to protect their cultural heritage and monuments.
During a meeting that happened in Paris in 2016, UNESCO director and the president of Iran agreed on the role that culture plays in society, therefore, the need for protection. Cultural heritage plays a huge role in educating citizens and also in eradicating violent extremism in the country (UNESCO, 2018). Destroying cultural sites and monuments is separating citizens from their cultural identity (UNESCO, 2018). The initiatives to protect Iran’s cultural heritage and monuments were put forward to the UN general assembly in 2013 (UNESCO, 2018). The proposal made to protect the cultural heritage from organizing an international conference to preach the importance of culture in our societies.
Destruction of cultural monuments is a big loss to humanity. Organizations need to be encouraged to put in place programs that will educate individuals on why they should counter violent extremisms (UNESCO, 2018). One’s culture plays an essential role in any country. In a bid to fight violent extremists from destroying cultural monuments, the focus has been placed on youths. The youths need to be educated on the importance of their cultural heritage so that they are not separated from their identity.