The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
804.
On 18 February
2003, Mr George Lambrick, Director of the British Council
for
Archaeology,
wrote to Dr Lewis Moonie, MOD Parliamentary Under Secretary of
State
and
Minister for Veterans.284
The letter
was primarily about an ongoing maritime heritage
issue but
Mr Lambrick also raised concerns about the steps being taken to
minimise
potential
damage to cultural sites in Iraq.
805.
Mr Lambrick
asked that the Government take steps to ratify the 1954
Hague
Convention
“as soon as possible and – at the very least – that
Government
should
declare its commitment to abide by the provisions of the Convention
in any
forthcoming conflict”.
806.
Dr Moonie
replied on 20 March, acknowledging that Mr Lambrick had also
written
to Mr Hoon
along similar lines.285
807.
Dr Moonie
stated that the UK had signed but not yet ratified the 1954
Hague
Convention
or its protocols but hoped “to be in a position to do so soon”. He
added
that
although the Convention was yet to be ratified, the UK remained
“fully committed
to the
protection of cultural property in time of armed conflict in
accordance with
international law”.
“In all our
military planning, no matter the campaign, very careful attention
is applied
to ensure
that we do all we can to minimise the risk of damage to all
civilian sites and
infrastructure.
Of course damage to infrastructure inflicted by Iraqi forces cannot
be
ruled out,
and it remains a priority concern for the Coalition to address this
threat.”
809.
The Inquiry
received a joint written submission from 13 heritage and
cultural
organisations
on 17 February 2010 which addressed the problems faced by UK
forces
with
respect to safeguarding the cultural heritage in
Iraq.286
810.
The submission
stated that archaeological and cultural heritage experts had
made
numerous
attempts to alert political and military personnel engaged in the
anticipated
invasion of
Iraq “on both sides of the Atlantic” about the importance of
cultural sites.
It stated
that “because no UK government department had taken responsibility
for
cultural
heritage matters, most such letters were met with little or no
response”.
811.
The submission
stated that, on 2 February 2003, Dr Peter Stone, an
archaeological
and
cultural heritage expert from the University of Newcastle, was
approached informally
by a
serving officer in the Royal Navy seeking help to identify
archaeological sites in Iraq
that might
require protection in the event of a conflict.
284
Letter
Lambrick to Moonie, 18 February 2003, ‘The Sussex’.
285
Letter
Moonie to Lambrick, 20 March 2003, [untitled].
286
Paper
UNESCO and 12 others, 17 February 2010, ‘The Problems Faced by
British Forces with
Respect to
Safeguarding the Cultural Heritage in Iraq’.
518