UNESCO International
Law Obligations through
Third State
Responsibility
Valentina Azarov
Palestine Center, 4 March 2014
Overview
1. Utilising UNESCO law to promote Palestinian
heritage protection
Utilising (UNESCO)
international law
Universal standard to be upheld threshold for
assessing, exposing state practice
Used in documentation/reporting,
international media rallying, public-awareness
Naming and shaming approach
Getting compliance with international law
International law short of real law
compliance subject to political discretion
International organisations provide limited
opportunities for enforcement, often
politicised
Takeaways
Adopt a state/actor specific approach to advocacy,
normative action
Value of technical approach pacify political
discretion that obstructs international law
enforcement
Need coherent international law-based strategy
for engagement, rights advocacy
Build capacity for: fact-finding, documentation,
archiving a register for Palestinian cultural
property?
Consider establishing Palestinian expert team
(legal and other cultural heritage protection
experts)
Mirror domestic and international initiatives