Stability Police Units and Cultural Heritage Protection in Conflict and Crisis Areas

In this paper, I will argue that Stability Police Units are the best suited forces to contribute to cultural heritage protection in conflict and crisis areas. I will make this point by matching the main tasks and requirements of cultural heritage protection (CHP) – broken down into military, police and cultural tasks – with the competences and capabilities of Stability Police Units, maintaining that they are a very good fit for effectively fulfilling these tasks.[1] 

Military tasks 

First and foremost, it is important to stress that CHP military tasks can be very demanding. CHP should not be mistaken as a minor, light and inexpensive activity. By contrast, it is to be seen as an extremely complex and hazardous politico-military exercise that can face serious challenges and unintended consequences. The fundamental task is to enforce the 1954 Convention and the international cultural heritage protection regime. This implies the ability to rapidly deploy and operate in potentially hostile and unstable environments, in precarious pre-conflict or post-conflict situations even before complete stability has been achieved. Additionally, securing cites and cultural properties, entails resorting to ground troops for in situ protection. CHP cannot be enforced from distance but there is need for “boots on the ground”, with all its related implications and risks. It should also be recalled that, often times, cultural heritage sites are not “soft targets” but represent highly valued and militarily sensitive objectives for the warring parties. Finally, CHP contingents should not be a liability or the weakest link of an international mission; rather, they should be logistically and operationally self-reliant or at least capable of full interoperability and integration with more heavily armed military units.

In short, to operate in such challenging environments, to protect cultural sites and properties and credibly deter further CH attacks, CHP forces must possess adequate armaments, equipment and training and be proficient in the use of both lethal and less-than-lethal force as circumstances dictate. 

Turning now to Stability Police Units’ competences and capabilities, it can be argued that they seem to be a good fit for effectively responding to these tasks and requirements. First of all, as an hybrid militarized police force, Stability Policing is capable of performing civilian as well as police and combat functions in complex and volatile security environments. For example, the Italian Carabinieri have substantial military capabilities and training, with a significant record of deployment in the full continuum of a conflict, including high-end military fighting as well and participation in complex and demanding international peacekeeping operations (from Bosnia to Iraq, from Kosovo to Afghanistan). Similar to other Stability Police forces, the Carabinieri can perform combat tasks that require disciplined group action; they are trained in and have the capacity for appropriate use of less- than-lethal as well as lethal force; and are highly skilled in the tactics and doctrine of light infantry, including rapid deployment and have an ability to sustain themselves logistically. To perform these military tasks, they are equipped with heavy equipment and strong suppression capabilities, including a broad range of military-style armoury, armoured vehicles, helicopters, patrol boats and light-infantry weapons.[2]

Police tasks

Beyond the military dimension, effective CHP necessarily implies a police component to prevent, investigate and repress criminal activities aimed at generating income from the illicit trafficking of stolen artefacts. Policing is also key for ensuring public order and security and for strengthening the rule of law, and thus addressing the root causes of social, political and economic disruption in which attacks against cultural property are likely to emerge. 

Stability Police Units seem to have adequate training, equipment and expertise to fulfil these specific police tasks. Again, the case of the Italian Carabinieri is very telling. As a police force with military status, the Carabinieri are to all intents and purposes a police corps, with relative training and equipment.

In particular, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, TPC), has advanced expertise in countering cultural heritage crimes, and in operating internationally to counter the demand side of the destination market for stolen artefacts (for instance through the Leonardo Data Base of stolen works of art).

Compared with the military, the Carabinieri – trained as a community-based policing force with a special civil-oriented mindset – have the appropriate skills, training and sensibilities, including the necessary flexibility and adaptability, for conflict management which is key in complex situations in which damage and theft of cultural property is the result of a situation of generalised poverty and socio-economic distress caused by instability and prolonged conflict. 

Cultural tasks

Finally, CHP comprises a series of specific cultural tasks related to the valorisation, promotion, preservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Key activities include advising and providing technical supervision, assistance and training to local authorities and international forces for cultural heritage preparedness and protection, in accordance with the principles of local ownership and sustainability. Another major task is prioritizing cultural protection vis-à-vis all opposing parties, including the international intervening forces. The accomplishment of such tasks requires CHP personnel to possess specific competences and sensibilities in cultural heritage. Training and experience in civil-military cooperation are also important elements for an effective intervention. 

While such competences and sensibilities are not widely available in all Stability Police Units, these are certainly common, again, among the Carabinieri TPC. The TPC is composed of personnel who are highly competent and experienced in a wide spectrum of matters related to cultural heritage. These personnel are selectively chosen by the TPC Central Office, and they receive advanced training during mandatory specialised courses in multiple sectors related to cultural protection. The record of TPC collaboration with civilian authorities and agencies is extensive and continuous both in Italy and in operations abroad. When it comes to sustainability and local ownership, it should be recalled training is a key element of TPC approach to CHP. The Carabinieri TPC have conducted cultural heritage awareness and professional military education programmes in noumerous countries, including Iraq, Kosovo, Palestine, Algeria, Turkey, the Philippines, Jordan.

Conclusion

Given its mixed nature of a hybrid militarised police force, Stability Police Units have the potential to respond effectively to the military, police and cultural requirements of effective CHP in the full continuum of a conflict and operate in a wide spectrum of hazardous and politically sensitive roles, including law enforcement, investigation and crime repression, cultural conservation and restoration as well as high-end military fighting to protect cultural property, as circumstances dictate.

[1]This paper largely draws on Paolo Foradori, “Protecting cultural heritage during armed conflict: the Italian contribution to ‘cultural peacekeeping’”, Modern Italy, 22, 1, 2017, p. 1-17.

[2]Paolo Foradori, “Cops in Foreign Lands: Italy’s Role in International Policing”, International Peacekeeping, 4, 2018, p. 497-527.