---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Leonard <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sep 12, 2005 11:24 AM
Subject: [ARCHIVES-NRA] Katarina - statement by International
Committee of the Blue Shield
To: [log in to unmask]


I have been asked to circulate the following statement by the ICBS:

Richard Leonard
Departmental Records Officer
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
-----------------------------------

Statement by ICBS on the impact of Hurricane Katrina
on the cultural heritage of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

PRESIDENT: JOAN VAN ALBADA  ICA, RUE DES FRANCS BOURGEOIS 60,  75003 PARIS,
FRANCE

 THE ICBS WORKS TO PROTECT CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF NATURAL AND
HUMAN DISASTER.
IT COMPRISES THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ARCHIVES (ICA),
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSEUMS (ICOM),
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON MONUMENTS AND SITES (ICOMOS) AND
THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS (IFLA)



The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS) expresses its sorrow
and solidarity with the American people and in particular with the
population of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for the loss of lives and
for the terrible disruption of their livelihood caused by hurricane Katrina
and the ensuing floods.
Although the highest priorities must be accorded to minimising the loss of
life and to the humanitarian activities intended to re-establish decent
living conditions for the hundreds of thousands of people whose homes and
means of subsistence have been wrecked by this natural disaster, the
International Committee of the Blue Shield must express its profound
concern for the fate of the cultural heritage in the affected states.
ICBS wishes to emphasise that the cultural heritage of a community reflects
its way of life, its history and identity, provides the link between its
past, present and future, and contributes substantially to its economic
sustainability and welfare.  A community cannot function effectively in the
larger societal context if deprived of its identity through the loss of its
cultural heritage.
ICBS, therefore, calls on the Federal Government of the United States of
America, and on the Governments of the States of Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama to swiftly draw up and implement plans to ensure the survival and
restoration of historic buildings and sites, museums collections, books in
libraries, and documents in archives.
ICBS also calls on the international community to give the fullest possible
support to the efforts, official and voluntary, now being made by United
States citizens and agencies to rescue the rich and unique heritage of New
Orleans and other cities and towns in the region.
Paris, 12 September 2005

The Blue Shield network is the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross and
strives to protect cultural objects and sites in the event of natural or
man-made disasters.

The International Committee of the Blue Shield, founded in 1996, comprises
representatives of the four Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working
in this field
· the International Council on Archives (www.ica.org),
· the International Council of Museums (www.icom.org),
· the International Council on Monuments and Sites (www.icomos.org),
and
· the International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (www.ifla.org)

and it works in co-operation with UNESCO, the International Centre for the
Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and
the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The status of the ICBS as an 'eminent professional organisation', which has
a formal relationship with UNESCO and an important advisory role, has been
recognised in the 2nd Protocol (1999) of the Hague Convention (1954) for
the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Further information about ICBS is available from its website
(http://www.ifla.org/blueshield.htm)


--
Peter Kurilecz
Richmond, Va

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