On 2 August 2023, Project Officer Dr Pablo Gavira Díaz participated in a summer school titled “Democracy Building in Times of War”, held from 24 July to 4 August 2023 at the premises of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Dr Gavira Díaz’s intervention focused on “The Protection of Cultural Property under International Criminal Law” in view of the large number of protected buildings that have been affected during the course of hostilities in Ukraine. The presentation was oriented towards providing a general understanding of the legal instruments that govern the protection of cultural property in armed conflicts, a subject of interest to the 16 students who attended the lecture. In addition, Dr Gavira Díaz discussed the different alternatives available that meet the conditions stipulated by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to prosecute crimes involving attacks directed against protected institutions. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion and the feedback was that it helped everyone to understand better which are the legal intricacies of the Rome Statute in respect of offences against cultural objects under the headings of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The summer school was conceived in the context of an alliance established in July 2022 by both the FAU and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU). The KNU-FAU alliance aims at strengthening research in Ukraine and integrating research from Ukraine into European projects.
Photo: Kateryna Futorianska