UNESCO delivers 7 tons of materials for preserving Syrian monuments

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Damascus, SANA- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) offered seven tons of materials used for preserving and repairing antiquities to employees in the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums.

The step signals UNESCO’s keenness to contribute to the protection and preservation of the Syrian heritage in light of the looting and destruction done by armed terrorist organizations.

UNESCO said in a statement on Friday that in coordination with the French Bibracte Museum and the European Center for Antiques, more than 50 institutions, experts and cultural figures from France and Switzerland managed to provide a large amount of materials for preserving artifacts in Syria.

The statement said that around 7 tons of these substances were gathered and sent to the UNESCO Office in Beirut and had been delivered last week to the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria, adding that this gift is a token of international solidarity and recognition of the importance of the historical legacy of the Syrian people.

Since 2011, the Syrian monuments, including those listed as World Heritage Sites, have been exposed to vandalism and destruction due to the acts of the armed groups which had stormed many archaeological sites with the aim of looting and illegally exporting artifacts and selling them in international markets, the statement added.

The statement pointed out that since 2011, the mission of confronting the threats facing the Syrian heritage has been entrusted to the UNESCO, adding that the organization launched the “Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Cultural Heritage project” which is funded by the European Union (EU), Flemish government and Austria.

The statement also hailed the efforts of the staffs operating in the heritage field in Syria.

In 2015, UNESCO and a number of monuments and heritage experts in France and Switzerland launched a joint initiative aimed at identify the needs of the experts working in the field, particularly in terms of tools and equipment, in order to enable them to continue their efforts in the field of preserving heritage.

Manar al-Frieh/Manal