The Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, 1954: Consultation Paper
In 1954, New Zealand signed the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The New Zealand Government is considering the case for New Zealand to ratify the Convention and accede to its two Protocols.
As part of this project, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage sought public input. A public consultation paper and questionnaire were prepared and sent to all libraries, museums, archives, iwi, and owners of Category 1 historic places, among others.
The consultation document can be accessed below. The consultation period has now ended on the issue.
The paper sets out seven key questions on which the Ministry sought input. The most important of these are:
- What New Zealand cultural property of great importance to New Zealanders should be protected by the Convention? This is a high threshold, and not all New Zealand cultural property will qualify.
- What New Zealand cultural property of the greatest importance for humanity as a whole should be protected by the enhanced protections offered under the Second Protocol? This is a highly restrictive test, and we anticipate that very few items of cultural property will be included in this category.
- Should the protections offered under the Convention be mandatory for all qualifying cultural property, or can owners elect not to be protected?
See also: related media release from Rt Hon Helen Clark, 8 April 2007 (Beehive website).
Consultation paper
The Consultation paper is also provided below in pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format.
- Consultation paper ( 277kbs, pdf)
The Hague Convention Consultation Paper
Policy Group
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
P O Box 5364
Wellington
hagueconvention@mch.govt.nz
Direct dial: (04) 495 2562
Ministry for Culture and Heritage: (04) 499 4229
The consultation period is now closed.