Debate on the destruction of cultural sites perpetrated by ISIS/Da'esh during the EP plenary session in Strasbourg. Statement by Silvia COSTA (S&D, IT), Author, Neven MIMICA, Member of the EC in charge of International cooperation and Development, Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS (EPP, ES), Zanda KALNIŅA-LUKAŠEVICA, Council and Curzio MALTESE (GUE/NGL, IT)

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

GONZÁLEZ PONS, Esteban (EPP, ES)

COSTA, Silvia (S&D, IT)

MIMICA, Neven (HR, EC)

MALTESE, Curzio (GUE/NGL, IT)

advance of Islamic State (T)

KALNIŅA-LUKAŠEVICA, Zanda (LV)

Destruction of cultural sites perpetrated by ISIS/Da'esh: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Silvia COSTA (S&amp;D, IT), Author, "Just for the area in Irak, more than 360 million dollars have come from the selling of luted artefacts. It the second sources of income for Da'esh after petrol."

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Silvia COSTA (S&amp;D, IT), Author, "We will call the EU to take the necessary steps along with the Unesco and the ICC to ensure the destruction of cultural artefacts be considered a crime against humanity and prosecuted as such, in particular we will ask High Representative Mogherini to ensure that she get in touch with the UN security council along with the Unesco and ensure that the necessary steps are done to block the trade on architectural artefacts on war zone and to set up security measures at the borders of Member States to stop this trade."

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Silvia COSTA (S&amp;D, IT), Author, "We would also be calling for the use of satellite technology not just to list and document what exactly is happening and what is being destroyed but also so that Syrian young archeologists that are risking their lives and who are trying to photograph and hide their heritage are supported."

SOUNDBITE (English), Neven MIMICA, Member of the EC in charge of International cooperation and Development, "We are also ready to explore with the European space agency (ESA) the possibility to deploy satellite imagery acquisitions over locations in conflict zones."

SOUNDBITE (English), Neven MIMICA, Member of the EC in charge of International cooperation and Development, "The Council has adopted regulations banning imports of cultural goods coming from the two countries. Now we must ensure that they will be appropriately enforced by the Member States authorities."

SOUNDBITE (English), Neven MIMICA, Member of the EC in charge of International cooperation and Development, "Since 2014 the European Union has also financially supported with 2.7 million euros the Unesco action plan for cultural heritage in Syria. The project aims at an emergency safeguarding of Syrian cultural heritage implemented by unesco."

SOUNDBITE (English), Zanda KALNI&#325;A-LUKA&#352;EVICA, Council, "Cooperation with the Unesco is essential to strengthen the protection of global cultural heritage. I would like to use this opportunity to call on those Member States who have not done it yet to ratify the 9070 Unesco convention concerning prohibition and prevention of illicit import export and transfer of cultural property."

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Esteban GONZ&#193;LEZ PONS (EPP, ES), "Thousands of innocent people have been assassinated, beheaded on beaches, tortured and of course with the loss of so many human lives it might seems difficult to deplore the destruction of cultural artefacts, they can never have the same value as human life, but this is also about destroying memory and terrorist can in fact exterminate a generation of a population but if they also destroy memory they are destroying the future."

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Curzio MALTESE (GUE/NGL, IT), "We should also reflect as Westerners about what we can do to correct our mistakes about what was wrong, for example it was wrong to set the debate on the war on terrorism on a so-called clash of civilisation but fundamentalism doesn't represent civilisation in any form, it's a just a bloodily lust for absolute power."

SOUNDBITE (English), Zanda KALNI&#325;A-LUKA&#352;EVICA, Council, "The export of cultural goods to third countries is subject to uniform controls at EU external borders. However such uniform rules do not exist for import. With this concern in mind last year the Council asked the Commission to prepare a study on the issue of illicit trafficking of cultural object, including the import to the EU of cultural goods illegally exported from third countries; This study is due to be completed in 2016."

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Curzio MALTESE (GUE/NGL, IT), "If we want to effectively combat terrorism and the horror of ISIS we can't delude ourselves that we will obtain results just through a motion, even if it is important to block trade on illegal imported goods. We have to combat fanaticism which is rising on our part and which is due to our ignorance of the history and culture of the countries of Islam and has led us to military intervention under foolish and counterproductive logics."