Cultural Heritage Law Commons^™

"So Far As War Allows": Why The Al Mahdi Conviction Is Unlikely To Stem The Pace Of Cultural Destruction Perpetrated By Non-State Actors, Jessica E. Burrus

Washington International Law Journal

In September of 2016, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi was convicted in the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) for the intentional destruction of several World Heritage sites during the 2012 conflict in Timbuktu, Mali. This conviction was hailed as a breakthrough after years of frustration with the lack of enforcement of international laws prohibiting the destruction of cultural property. It was also the first conviction of its kind, and advocates of cultural preservation have celebrated it as a much-needed general deterrent in North Africa and the Middle East, where iconoclasm has become a favorite tactic of various state and non-state actors …