International Protection of Cultural Heritage in Armed Conflict: Revisiting the Role of Safe Havens

In 2017, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2347, lauded as “a historic milestone” in the international struggle to safeguard cultural heritage in armed conflict. Among a wide spectrum of recommended actions, this instrument encourages the UN State Members to establish a network of “safe havens” in their own territories to protect cultural property, “while taking into account the cultural, geographic, and historic specificities of the cultural heritage in need of protection.” In this regard, Resolution 2347 makes explicit reference to the 2016 Abu Dhabi Declaration on heritage at risk in the context of armed conflicts, a Declaration which promotes the creation of a network of “safe havens” in the country of origin, and as a last resort in another country. This article discusses the international law framework of extraterritorial “safe havens” for cultural property. In particular, it analyses: 1) the legal notion of safe haven in international law documents; 2) the operationalisation of safe havens for endangered cultural property in the practice of states, analysing recent regulatory initiatives at the national level; and 3) safe havens in the global, multi-faceted governance of cultural heritage, examining the relevance of safe havens for peacekeeping operations and for the development of the UN doctrine of Responsibility to Protect

UNESCO Transboundary Biosphere Reserves as laboratories of cross-border cooperation for sustainable development of border areas. The case of the Polish–Ukrainian borderland

This paper aims to assess the current and potential role of UNESCO Transboundary Biosphere Reserves (TBRs) as a platform for cross-border-cooperation-enhancing sustainable development of border areas characterised by unique natural and cultural heritage but lagging in socio-economic terms. The study covered three TBRs located in the Polish–Ukrainian borderland: West Polesie, Roztocze and East Carpathians. The quantitative (regarding subject matter, partners involved, amount of funding, etc.) and qualitative analysis (aimed at examining the objectives of the initiatives undertaken in line with the BRs’ goals) included projects implemented under the CBC Programmes Poland–Belarus–Ukraine in the years 2004–2020. The results suggest that cross-border cooperation in the analysed areas was generally oriented toward TBR-related objectives, i.e., socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable development. At the same time, numerous barriers have been identified that limit the impact of crossborder cooperation on the sustainable development of the TBRs

Istria's Artistic and Spiritual Heritage in Abeyance: International Cooperation and Cultural Community Rights

This article deals with the contested status of two groups of cultural objects - a collection of priceless artworks, and fifteen church bells - originating from Istria, precisely from the present-day territory of the Slovenian and Croatian Littorals, and preserved in Italy since the turbulent, tragic times of the Second World War. It argues that the ownership title to such objects does not lie at the centre of the current controversy between Slovenia (and potentially Croatia) and Italy. Instead, it seems that the fundamental issue in this regard refers to the recognition and realization of cultural community rights to such heritage, affected by political, territorial, and ethnic transformations. This article discusses various international legal regimes that might be applicable in this case of Istria\u2019s contested cultural heritage, with special focus on the enhancement of cultural human rights and international cultural cooperation. It also touches upon the concept of procedural justice, built on the principles of participation, voice, and transparency, which are perceived as crucial in negotiating and managing cultural heritage matters and controversies

A poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase inhibitor, benzamide protects smooth muscle cells but not endothelium against ischemia/reperfusion injury in isolated guinea-pig heart

Activation of the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) synthethase (PARS) is important in the cellular response to oxidative stress. During ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) increased free radical production leads to DNA breakage that stimulates PARS which in turn results in an energy-consuming metabolic cycle and initiation of the apoptotic process. Previous studies have reported that PARS inhibition confers protection in various models of I/R-induced cardiovascular damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of PARS inhibition in I/R-induced injury of smooth muscle cells and endothelium in the coronary circulation of the isolated guinea-pig heart. Control hearts and those treated with a PARS inhibitor - benzamide (100 µmol L-1), were subjected to 30 min of subglobal ischemia and subsequent reperfusion (90 min). To analyze the functional integrity of smooth muscle cells and endothelium, one-minute intracoronary infusions of endothelium-independent (sodium nitroprusside, NaNP; 3 µmol L-1) and endothelium-dependent (substance P, SP; 10 nmol L-1) vasodilators were used before ischemia and at the reperfusion time. The degree of the injury of coronary smooth muscle and endothelial cells induced by I/R was estimated in terms of diminished vasodilator responses to NaNP (at 55 min and 85 min of reperfusion) and to SP (at 70 min of reperfusion), respectively, and expressed as the percentage of preischemic response. I/R reduced vasorelaxant responses to both vasodilators by half (to 54.1 ± 5.1% and to 53.6 ± 4.9% of preischemic value for NaNP at 55 min and 85 min of reperfusion, respectively and to 45.9 ± 6.5% for SP at 70 min of reperfusion). PARS inhibition provided complete restoration of vasorelaxation induced by NaNP (107.6 ± 13.3% and 104 ± 14.4% of preischemic response at the two time points of reperfusion, respectively). However, there was no effect on the SP-induced response (48+12.1% of preischemic response). We conclude that pharmacological PARS inhibition with benzamide protects coronary smooth muscle cells but not endothelium against I/R-induced reperfusion injury in the coronary circulation of the guinea-pig heart

National Museums in the Context of State Succession: The Negotiation of Difficult Pasts in the Post-Cold War Reality

Abstract The paper explores how the recent post-Cold War wave of state succession in Europe has affected the integrity of state art collections. Firstly, the paper explains the content and nature of legal principles regulating allocation and distribution of national cultural treasures in cases of state succession. Secondly, it discusses their actual implementation in relation to two recent cases: apportionment of cultural material between Czech Republic and Slovakia (1994) and the ongoing dispute between Italy and Slovenia on the title to the so-called 'Istria's Jewels' and their future allocation. The first one refers to the exchange of certain number of medieval paintings between national museums of Czech Republic and Slovakia fundamentally driven by the principle of territorial origin and historical provenance. The issue of 'nationality' of the objects has not been raised. Inversely, the dispute between Italy and Slovenia is profoundly marked by what one may call 'the negotiation of difficult pasts'. Accordingly, this case concerns the status of the artworks evacuated by the Italian administration in 1940 from three coastline municipalities of Italian Istria, nowadays known as Slovenian Littoral or Primorska. As a result of WW II, the region was transferred to Yugoslavia. Italian inhabitants of the region emigrated or were forced to emigrate. The status of the Istrian art treasures, currently preserved in the National Gallery of Art in Trieste, remained pending. The dissolution of Yugoslavia has brought the issue to light. Indeed, Italy and Slovenia have to face legal questions regarding the fate of disputed art treasures and overcome bitter memories of the past. Within this context, the paper attempts to (re)locate the role of national museums in the broader discourse on cultural reconciliation. It advocates the view that nowadays such institutions need to be perceived both as major actors and efficient instruments in cross-border cultural co-operation. 2

The effects of state succession on cultural property : ownership, control, protection

Defence date: 13 June 2011Prof. Francesco Francioni, European University Institute (Supervisor), Prof. Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, European University Institute, Prof. Kurt Siehr, Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Prof. Wladyslaw Czaplinski, Polish Academy of SciencesFirst made available online 30 May 2019The purpose of this study was to investigate the legal effects of state succession on cultural property. This is not a new topic of international law. Indeed, the attempts to provide a legal framework for the cultural aspects of state succession have been undertaken in international practice and legal scholarship since at least the mid-nineteenth century. Initially, these were strictly bound to the origin of the European nation-state, determining its territorial boundaries accordingly to ethnic and cultural divisions. However, the concept of cultural property in international law has evolved towards a broader, more human-oriented idea of cultural heritage. Such a conceptual shift has occurred in the last fifty years, marked by the gradual recognition of the fundamental role performed by cultural manifestations in the preservation of human dignity and the continuous development of all mankind. This study discusses to what extent the practice and the theory of state succession reflect this evolution. It attempts to reconstruct the principles regulating interstate arrangements with regard to such matters, contextualizing them in a broad historical and geographical framework. Particular attention has been paid to the question of state succession to international cultural heritage obligations. This piece of work explores their content, sources and status in state succession. It explains that nowadays the preservation and enjoyment of cultural heritage do not constitute the exclusive concern of state sovereignty. On the contrary, such values are of general interest to the international community as a whole. Therefore, the study advocates a new doctrinal approach, based both on the principles of international cultural heritage law and human rights law. This implies the limitation of the contractual freedom of states in the matter of cultural agreements, in favour of the continuity of international cultural heritage obligations in cases of state succession. Finally, the study proposes a list of guiding principles relating to the succession of states in respect of tangible cultural heritage, which may contribute to the further development of international practice

Przemiany narodowościowe w Abchazji od II połowy XIX do początku XXI wieku

Ethnic changes in Abkhazia (2nd half of the 19th century– beginning of the 21st century) Main aim of the paper is to analyse ethnic changes that took place in Abkhazia from the 60s of the 19th century to the present. The paper discusses the changes in ethnic structure of Abkhazia caused by the forced exodus of the Abkhazians to the Ottoman Empire (muhajirstvo), the process of multinational settlement in Abkhazia from the late 19th century to the 1990s, the Georgian-Abkhazian war of 1992-1993 and the national policy of de facto Abkhazia led in the post-war period in the terms of the absence of international recognition.   Przemiany narodowościowe w Abchazji od II połowy XIX do początku XXI wieku Celem artykułu jest analiza przemian narodowościowych, jakie zaszły w Abchazji począwszy od lat 60. XIX wieku do chwili obecnej. W pracy omówiono zmiany w strukturze etnicznej w Abchazji warunkowane przymusowym eksodusem Abchazów do Imperium Osmańskiego (muchadżyrstwo), procesem wielonarodowościowego osadnictwa na te- renie Abchazji od końca XIX wieku do lat 90. XX wieku, wojną gruzińsko-abchaską z lat 1992-1993 oraz polityką narodowościową de facto Abchazji prowadzoną w okresie powojennym w warunkach braku uznania międzynarodowego

Teleworking Across the Border: Insights from Cascadia

The COVID-19 Pandemic, supported by the rapid improvements in digital communication tools, has accelerated profound changes in how work is performed as millions worldwide started working remotely. Washington State and British Columbia were among the states/provinces with the highest percentage of people teleworking in the United States and Canada, respectively, mainly due to the developed industries of high technology, including the IT sector. However, as digital solutions allow for working from anywhere, they also boosted the rise of international virtual labor migration (cross-border telework), making labor mobility an even more diverse phenomenon. What remains an open question is whether telework enables a cross-border digital labor market and how work across borders transforms and alters cross-border economic linkages

Uwarunkowania konfliktów etnopolitycznych w państwach wielonarodowościowych

The importance of ethnicity in many areas of contemporary political and social life is increasing rather than decreasing. Ethnicity still remains an important source of conflicts in the internal politics of states, often leading to the outbreak of armed conflicts. This article attempts to conceptualize the conditions of modern ethnopoliticalconflicts in which ethnic differences lie at the heart of the division between the parties in its historical, ethno-demographic, socio-economic, socio-cultural and political dimensions.Znaczenie czynnika etnicznego w wielu sferach współczesnego życia politycznego i społecznego nie tylko nie maleje, ale wręcz wzrasta, stając się przy tym ważnym źródłem sytuacji konfliktogennych w polityce wewnętrznej państw i niekiedy prowadząc do wybuchu konfliktów zbrojnych. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest próba konceptualizacji uwarunkowań współczesnych konfliktów etnopolitycznych, w których główną osią podziału stron pozostają różnice na płaszczyźnie etnicznej i narodowościowej w wymiarze historycznym, etniczno-demograficznym, społeczno-ekonomicznym, społeczno-kulturowym i politycznym