Patrimonio per la Pace in un Mondo Pieno di Conflitti

Abstract

Despite studies highlighting UNESCO's role in building a world in peace, the link between cultural heritage, human rights and social relations may also trigger social and/or ethnic conflicts. The contribution reveals these dynamics through an investigation of the events that took place during the 40th Committee of the World Heritage Center, held in Istanbul in July 2016 in which the the Armenian archaeological site Ani was inscribed in the UNESCO list. On the same occasion, in an unofficial way, there were discussions on the interventions of the Turkish army in another site registered in the 2015 list "Cultural landscape of the Diyarbakır fortress" characterized by a predominantly Kurdish population. Activist groups denounced the destruction of Kurdish heritage and memory by the Turkish army accusing UNESCO of taking an indifferent position. The contribution highlights the consequences that precede and follow the processes of registration in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.