World Heritage Sites - NFHS

World Heritage Sites

National Federation of High Schools Debate Topic Proposal Topic Selection Committee Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Summer 2016

Presented by: Kyle Brenner Melissa High School, Melissa, Texas Representing the University Interscholastic League

World Heritage Sites

Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................3 Proposed Resolution...........................................................................................................................4 Actor............................................................................................................................................................. 4

The United Nations..................................................................................................................................4 The United States .................................................................................................................................... 5 Support ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 World Heritage Convention ........................................................................................................................ 6 List of World Heritage in Danger.................................................................................................................6 Current List of World Heritage in Danger June 2016..............................................................................6 Narrow the Resolution ................................................................................................................................ 8 In the Arab States....................................................................................................................................8 In Latin America and the Caribbean ....................................................................................................... 9 In Specified Countries .............................................................................................................................. 9 Timeliness of World Heritage in Danger ............................................................................................9 Affirmative Ground.............................................................................................................................9 Negative Ground...............................................................................................................................10 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................10 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................11 End Notes..........................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction

In March of 2001, the Taliban erupted onto the international scene by dynamiting

and destroying the famed Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. The Buddhas of Bamiyan

were chiseled out of the cliffs and have survived

the armies of Genghis Khan and the introduction of

Islam, but were unable to survive the iconoclastic Taliban regime of the 21st century.i (See Figure 1)

The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological

Remains of the Bamiyan Valley have now found its

way on the the United Nations Education,

Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) List

of World Heritage in Danger. Since the destruction

by the Taliban, UNESCO, the Afghan government,

and locals have failed to reach a consensus on the Figure 1: The taller Buddha of Bamiyan before (left)

ideal method to rehabilitate the ruination.

and after the destruction (right). UNESCO/A Lezine

Sadly, the destruction of the cultural, historical, and natural sites is not confined to the Bamiyan Valley. All around the world, particularly in the Arab States, World Heritage Sites are under assault. In May of 2015, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) scored a colossal victory by taking control of the historic Site of Palmyra in the Syrian Arab Republic. Over the months that followed, ISIL continued a deliberate campaign of cultural desecration punctuated by mass executions in Palmyra's ancient amphitheater to get publicity, attention, and vilification from the world's media. UNESCO led the charge and publically denounced the carnage of Palmyra as a war crime. As the world howled, aghast,

over the atrocities in Palmyra, ISIL celebrated with a fresh influx of recruits and funds raised from the illicit antiquities sold on the black market. The United Nations and the rest of the global community did little as ISIL turned the site to ruins. (See Figure 2) By late April 2016, the Russian backed Syrian Army had Figure 2: Temple of Bel Aug 27, 2015 (Left) and Aug 31, 2015 managed to retake the site. A Rapid

(Right.) UNITAR-UNOSAT; AFP

Assessment Mission supported by UN Security Forces found that statues and sarcophagi were defaced, smashed, heads severed, and fragments left scattered throughout the site. Much of the existing architecture was severely damaged, but a full survey has yet to be completed due to slow demining operations.ii

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The destruction of the historic Site at Palmyra

(See Figure 3) is just one example of that irreparable

damage that has been done since the last time the

National Federation of High School held their Topic

Selection Meeting last summer. There are five

other sites within the borders of Syria that have

experienced similar levels of destruction during the

last year and with ISIL threatening to move the

Figure 3: A picture showing the Templ of Bel before it destruction throughout the region. To be clear,

was destroy by ISIS; Joseph Eid/AFP

terrorist/extremist organizations such as ISIL and

the Taliban are not the only threat to World

Heritage Sites nor are they the only criteria for a site to appear on the UNESCO List of

World Heritage in Danger. The destruction pictured above makes for compelling imagery

and, thus, are much more likely to reported by the media. The world has an obligation to

preserve and protect our shared cultural, historic, and natural sites for future generations.

As Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, articulates, "In a world of change, world heritage is a reminder of all that unites humanity."iii Thus,

Proposed Resolution

Resolved: The United Nations should substantially increase its support for one or more sites on the United Nations' World Heritage Convention's List of World Heritage in Danger.

Actor The United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is the optimal actor because they have the most experience operating under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage which guides UNESCO's efforts of World Heritage protection. Since the adoption of the 1972 Convention, 178 nations have signed on with 1,031 recognized properties across the globe. The UN controls the meager funds of the World Heritage Fund (US$4 million, annually) that is used to finance and fund projects. This expertise makes the UN the best actor to support sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. As Roy Rodriquez, author of the 2015 Topic Proposal on Global Malnutrition, argues, "having the UN as the main actor would allow for debaters to gain a better understanding of the UN and how if functions as an organization, essential knowledge in today's society."iv

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It is likely that the Marshall Subcommittee or the Wording Committee will recommend that the actor should not be the United Nations and be replaced with the traditional United States federal government. Here is a list of several reasons why the committees should consider using the United Nations.

1. The policy debate community has focused on the United States government, the wording has varied slightly, since 1975-1976 with the topic Resolved: That the development and allocation of scare world resources should be controlled by an international organization.v

2. The policy debate community has not discussed the United Nations since 2004-2005 with the topic Resolved: That the United States federal government should establish a foreign policy substantially increasing its support of United Nations peacekeeping operations.

3. The policy debate community has not solely focused on the United Nations since 1960-1961 with the topic Resolved: That the United Nations should be significantly strengthened.

4. The policy debate community should embrace the United Nations as an actor as a means to further grow the educational opportunities for all who participate in the activity at the secondary level and beyond

The United States

Using the United States federal government (USFG) as the actor would be far more palatable to the policy debate community and could be directly substituted for the United Nations in the proposed resolution.

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its support for one or more sites on the United Nations World Heritage Convention's List of World Heritage in Danger.

This resolution with the USFG as the actor would make very similar to the 2004-2005 policy debate topic of peacekeeping operations.

Support

The term "support" will be one of the most dubious word of this resolution. In general, there will be two likely overarching competing interpretations of the term. The negative is likely to argue that the affirmative must provide some kind of concrete assistance to the endangered site. Affirmatives, in an attempt to escape likely arguments, will use a definition that does not require concrete tangible/physical assistance.

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