Page 17 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

with a wider-reaching legal instrument. The Council of Europe had examined the issue sin- ce 1976, but it was not until 1994 that a draft of the Convention on the Protection of the Un- derwater Cultural Heri- tage was adopted by the International Law Asso- ciation (ILA) in Buenos Aires. Two years later, the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) met in Sofia and adopted the “Interna- tional Charter on the Pro- tection and Management of the Underwater Cultu- ral Heritage”.
Both texts, the ILA draft
and the ICOMOS Charter,
had no binding nature and
only a repercussive effect
on national legislations,
as ILA and ICOMOS are
professional associations,
and not intergovernmental
entities. Their texts were
in consequence not open for adherence by States.
Understanding the urgency of the situation, UNESCO assumed the responsibility for creating a binding legal instrument based on the consideration of the ILA draft and the ICOMOS Charter. UNESCO’s General Conference therefore decided in 1997, at its 29th session, that an international convention should be elaborated and a group of governmental experts was convened. From 1998 until 2001, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was elaborated and finally adopted as one of the UNESCO conventions aimed at safeguarding cultural heritage. The principles of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It has 195 Member States and eight Associate Members. The protection of cultural heritage is inscribed in its mandate under its constitution. It achieves its goals, among others, through the elaboration of legal texts, in particular Conventions, for adherence by its Members.
the 2001 Convention
A Convention is an agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law. It imposes binding legal obligations on its Parties. The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was elaborated by several in- tergovernmental expert meetings and then adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2001 at its 31st session. It is open for ratification by all States and even certain territories. It does not regulate the ownership of submerged heritage, but ensures its safeguarding.
Ratification
Ratification means that a State, wishing to become a party, expresses its consent to be bound by the Convention at the international level, thus becoming a State Party. It will harmonize its national legislation in conformity with the Convention and comply with it. When a very large number of States ratifies a Convention, its regulations may become customary law, under certain conditions, and may also bind States which are not party to it, in the event that they do not expressly object.
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