The objectives of this regional meeting will be to raise awareness, promote the ratification of and improve the implementation of three international conventions in Kazakhstan, Kirghizistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The conventions are:

• the Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict with Regulations for the Execution of the Convention, The Hague, 14 May 1954 and its two protocols (14 May 1954 and 26 March 1999);
• the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, Paris, 14 November 1970, and
• the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects).

It will bring together national cultural heritage authorities from Central Asian countries to enable them to share knowledge, gain information about the protection of cultural heritage and raise awareness of the increasing threats to it.

Related UNESCO Programmes:

• 1954 Hague Convention and Protocols
• 1970 Convention

Contact: F. Langlois, UNESCO Office in Almaty