The Hague, 26 March 1999

The Parties,

Conscious of the need to improve the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict and to establish an enhanced system of protection for specifically designated cultural property;

Reaffirming the importance of the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, done at the Hague on 14 May 1954, and emphasizing the necessity to supplement these provisions through measures to reinforce their implementation;

Desiring to provide the High Contracting Parties to the Convention with a means of being more closely involved in the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict by establishing appropriate procedures therefor;

Considering that the rules governing the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict should reflect developments in international law;

Affirming that the rules of customary international law will continue to govern questions not regulated by the provisions of this Protocol;

Have agreed as follows:

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Protocol:

• a. “Party” means a State Party to this Protocol;

• b. “cultural property” means cultural property as defined in Article 1 of the Convention;

• c. “Convention” means the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, done at The Hague on 14 May 1954;

• d. “High Contracting Party” means a State Party to the Convention;

• e. “enhanced protection” means the system of enhanced protection established by Articles 10 and 11;

• f. “military objective” means an object which by its nature, location, purpose, or use makes an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralisation, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage;

• g. “illicit” means under compulsion or otherwise in violation of the applicable rules of the domestic law of the occupied territory or of international law;

• h. “List” means the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection established in accordance with Article 27, sub-paragraph 1(b);

• i. “Director-General” means the Director-General of UNESCO;

• j. “UNESCO” means the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

• k. “First Protocol” means the Protocol for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict done at The Hague on 14 May 1954.