Disasters: An Additional (Legal) Dimension for the International Protection of Cultural Heritage

Even if disasters are a significant challenge for the protection of cultural and natural heritage, the interest of the international community towards this issue has been quite limited for a long period. Still, some changes more recently could be recorded. In particular, a more contextualized and evolutionary interpretation of existing treaty provisions provided by international cultural heritage law, and the development of innovative practices tailored to face this scenario, could provide states with pertinent guidance on measures to be adopted. At the same time cultural concerns have been able to progressively fertilize international disaster law instruments in light of their inherent general relevance. The chapter examines the ways in which these areas of the law interplay and how features commonly associated with community interest norms have characterized this scenario.