IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 795 

Supporting the commitment of the United States to lawfully protect 

international cultural sites. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 14, 2020 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. RYAN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the commitment of the United States to lawfully 

protect international cultural sites. 

Whereas President Trump threatened to strike locations in 

Iran that are ‘‘at a very high level & important to Iran 

& the Iranian culture’’; 

Whereas the United States has a proud history of protecting 

and avoiding intentional damage to and destruction of 

sites of historical and cultural significance, even and especially in times of armed conflict; 

Whereas President Abraham Lincoln’s Lieber Code of 1863 

expresses that cultural property should be protected in 

times of armed conflict; 

Whereas, during World War II, Supreme Allied Commander 

Dwight D. Eisenhower issued an order that military 


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•HRES 795 IH 

forces are bound to respect historical monuments so far 

as war allows; 

Whereas, following World War II, the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event 

of Armed Conflict (‘‘Hague Convention’’), to which the 

United States is a party, requires that State Parties refrain from any act directed by way of reprisals against 

cultural property and solidified the principle that cultural 

property should not be targeted during conflict except in 

cases of imperative military necessity; 

Whereas, the most recent Department of Defense Law of 

War Manual, revised in 2016, specifically prohibits ‘‘acts 

of hostility . . . directed against cultural property’’ in 

the absence of imperative military necessity; 

Whereas, in 2004, the United Nations International Criminal 

Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted those responsible for the intentional shelling of the Old City of 

Dubrovnik in Croatia, a World Heritage Site; 

Whereas the Protect and Preserve International Cultural 

Property Act (Public Law 114–151) advanced the protection of cultural property at risk from conflicts in Syria 

and elsewhere and established an interagency Cultural 

Heritage Coordinating Committee at the U.S. Department of State; 

Whereas, in 2017, the United Nations Security Council condemned the unlawful destruction of cultural property in 

Resolution 2347, a resolution for which the United States 

voted, and affirmed that directing unlawful attacks 

against cultural sites and buildings may constitute a war 

crime; 


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•HRES 795 IH 

Whereas section 1279C of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–91; 10 U.S.C. 113 

note) designated a Coordinator for Cultural Heritage 

Protection at the Department of Defense to help ensure 

the protection of cultural property, including adherence 

to the Hague Convention; 

Whereas, on January 7, 2020, when asked about the prospect 

of targeting cultural sites in Iran, Secretary of Defense 

Mark Esper stated that ‘‘we will follow the law of armed 

conflict’’; 

Whereas, on January 7, 2020, Secretary of State Mike 

Pompeo stated that ‘‘every target that’s being reviewed, 

every effort that’s being made will always be conducted 

inside the international laws of war’’; and 

Whereas, it is the established policy of the United States to 

protect international cultural property abroad, including 

that of religious communities and ethnic minorities: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the intentional targeting or destruction of 

4 cultural property in the absence of imperative mili5 tary necessity is a violation of the law of armed con6 flict and runs counter to the values of the United 

7 States; 

8 (2) the United States is committed to following 

9 the law of armed conflict and international agree10 ments to which it is a party, including the 1954 


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•HRES 795 IH 

1 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural 

2 Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; and 

3 (3) the President should not order the United 

4 States military or other government agencies or em5 ployees to commit war crimes or other violations of 

6 the international law of armed conflict or threaten to 

7 do so. 

Æ 


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