ICOMOS Türkiye National Committee will organise a webinar on 21 May 2026, as part of the International Day for Monuments and Sites events, to raise awareness of the impacts of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East on cultural heritage. The event, titled "Living Cultural Heritage Under Threat in the Middle East: Findings from Conflict Zones," is planned to include assessments by ICOMOS members from the relevant countries regarding the identification of destruction caused by conflicts to cultural heritage in Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine, the management of the current situation, and the challenges encountered throughout this process.
Through statements issued on 3 March 2026[1] and 26 March 2026[2], ICOMOS expressed its profound concern over the recent escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and their devastating human consequences, strongly condemned all forms of destruction of cultural and natural heritage — whether intentional or incidental — and reiterated that cultural heritage must not be regarded as a legitimate target. The statements underscore that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East pose a risk of irreversible losses. That, given cultural heritage constitutes an integral part of fundamental social structures embedded in daily life — structures that ensure continuity even under conditions of displacement — the damages incurred must be understood not merely as physical loss, but also as disruption to practices, shared reference systems and cultural anchors, including through loss of access, use and presence.
The theme of the 2026 International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS) — "Emergency Response for Living Heritage in the Context of Conflicts and Disasters" — aims to render visible the efforts undertaken for the protection and safeguarding of the world's culturally significant "Living Heritage," in the face of escalating risks arising from disasters and conflicts that are accelerating within increasingly complex and multi-hazard contexts.
