UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage from 2001, was created to adapt to the protection of the cultural heritage of the country the protection of underwater cultural heritage and to regulate the cooperation between the different countries and facilitate.

Under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Convention understood to be all traces of human existence that have located more than 100 years under water and are of historical or cultural significance. Pipelines and other equipment in use still standing remain, however, excluded.

The UNESCO Convention contains no provisions on the ownership of cultural property of found and is not intended to change the state sovereignty in the various sea zones.

The contents of the Convention

The convention focuses on three main points in order to achieve their goal of protection of the underwater cultural heritage:

• The definition of general principles of protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage
• The establishment of an international cooperation system
• The establishment of guidelines for the work of underwater archaeologists (in Annex of the Convention)

Whereas the protection principles of the Convention of 2001

The general principles of protection of the UNESCO Convention of 2001 in harmony with the recognized already for cultural heritage on land principles. They include the principle of the protection and commercialization of the cultural heritage, the advantage of preservation of cultural heritage at the site and the observance of archaeological standards in case of any Fund rescue.

The Convention supports the respectful access to archaeological sites by the public.

The fact that these general principles of the Convention on the issue of commercial exploitation is the most serious by far, is, as already mentioned above, no secret.

The international system of cooperation

In addition to setting the protection principles is the cooperation system, which is to enable cooperation of affected States, an important part of the UNESCO Convention. This system was developed in order to find a solution for gaps in state sovereignty at sea.

The further you move away from the coast of a state, the lower will be the sovereign rights of the coastal state. At sea, a state has therefore only rights over its own nationals and vessels flying its flag. If not located in territorial waters archeological site is looted, it therefore requires the cooperation of the coastal and the country of origin (or other interested states ) to stop looters. This cooperation is regulated by the 2001 UNESCO Convention. Sovereign rights or Seerechtszonen are hereby explicitly but not modified.

The cooperation system of the Convention stipulates that each State shall prohibit the damage to the underwater cultural heritage, its nationals required to report findings or activities and the obligation takes to inform the other States Parties to the Convention on received messages. These can then register their interest in cooperating, if they have a demonstrable historical connection to the affected archaeological find. States that have so indicated their interest are discussions amongst themselves, and the decisions taken are implemented in the interests of cultural heritage and of all countries affected by a Coordinating State. The Coordinating State shall act as agents and shall not acquire any additional sovereign rights. The legitimacy of sovereign acts against persons and vessels on the high seas resulting from the sovereign right of participating in the deliberations country of origin.

The guidelines for the work of underwater archaeologists

The Annex of the 2001 UNESCO Convention sets standards for the work of underwater archaeologists. Its rules have world wide support found by archaeologists. Set principles for archaeological work, the documentation and the financing of excavations. They are helpful not only for archaeologists but also are faced with the question whether to grant an application for an excavation or not for authorities.