On Wednesday, September 25th, 2013, an event was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where UNESCO officials including Director-General Irina Bokova joined the President of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Dr. Hans-Martin Hinz, and United States Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Ms Anne Richard, to launch an Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk.
Since 2000, ICOM has published 12 Red Lists for cultural objects at risk from all over the world. The ICOM Red Lists further facilitate the work of police, customs officials and all other professionals concerned with the protection of heritage objects by helping them identify the categories that are particularly vulnerable to illegal purchase, transaction and export. The Syrian Red List contains many objects from different periods of Syrian history including prehistory and ancient history, Islamic era and middle ages as well as Ottoman period.
After tower destroyed
Aleppo before destruction
Over the last two years, the world has witnessed loss of lives as well as the destruction of heritage sites in Syria caused by the ongoing conflict.
