Statement delivered on behalf of 38 countries, state parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage on December 2, 2024.

As we gather here in Asunción, Paraguay, for the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee, we reaffirm our collective commitment to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage under the framework of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This effort reflects our recognition of living heritage as vital expressions of diversity and essential pillars of sustainable development. However, as we speak, the Russian Federation continues its, unprovoked, and unjustifiable aggression against Ukraine and its people.

This full-scale invasion, now persisting for more than a thousand days, has caused devastating loss of life, immense human suffering, and widespread destruction across all regions of Ukraine. Statistical data compiled by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communication of Ukraine highlights the extensive physical damage as over thousand cultural heritage sites were affected by the atrocities, including two World Heritage Sites.[1] Among the irreparable damages are numerous sites of profound cultural significance highlighting the intersection between war and the erosion of cultural identity. Yet, while the loss of tangible heritage is immense, the repercussions on Ukraine’s intangible cultural heritage—rooted in the shared intergenerational sense of belonging and identity—are far harder to quantify and, in many cases, irreversible.

Every aspect of intangible cultural heritage recognized under the 2003 Convention now faces unprecedented threats, underscoring the urgent need for continued unified international action.

Therefore, we commend UNESCO's continued efforts to support Ukraine's endangered heritage, both tangible and intangible, including its assistance in enhancing intergenerational transmission through the provision of a resource kit for teachers and educators. This kit promotes an innovative methodology that bridges living heritage, education, and science.

We reiterate our demand that the Russian Federation immediately, completely, and unconditionally cease all military actions against Ukraine and withdraw from its territory within its internationally recognized borders.

The statement was given on behalf of the following countries:

1. Albania
2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Bulgaria
5. Chile
6. Croatia
7. Cyprus
8. Czechia
9. Denmark
10. Estonia
11. Finland
12. France
13. Germany
14. Greece
15. Iceland
16. Ireland
17. Italy
18. Japan
19. Latvia
20. Lithuania
21. Luxembourg
22. Malta
23. Monaco
24. Montenegro
25. Netherlands
26. Norway
27. Poland
28. Portugal
29. Romania
30. San Marino
31. Slovak Republic
32. Slovenia
33. Spain
34. Sweden
35. Switzerland
36. Ukraine
37. United Kingdom
38. Moldavia.

[1] Data as of May 2024, available at: https://mcsc.gov.ua/en/news/due-to-russian-aggression-in-ukraine-1062-cultural-heritage-sites-have-been-affected/