Off the wire
• 3rd LD-Writethru China focus: Chinese premier says talks with India's Modi "meet expectations," 24 deals signed  • UN official urges Southeast Asia gov'ts to protect migrant lives  • UN Council adopts draft report on U.S. human rights  • U.S. says to maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe  • Hacker attack targets German parliament: report  • U.S. stocks mildly lower at midday on weak data  • Feature: Outdoor health expo kicks off in Sofia  • French man sentenced to eight years in jail for jihad in Mali  • Germany unveils grand overseas show of Chinese contemporary art  • Singapore not to accept refugees: ministry  
You are here: 　 Home

UNESCO calls for protection of world heritage endangered by extremism

Xinhua, May 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Visiting Executive Director General of the UNESCO Irina Bokova on Friday stressed the need to protect the world heritage endangered by violence and extremism.

"Our response to extremism lies in the protection of heritage and culture," Bokova said after meeting with Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Gebran Bassil, stressing the need for the protection of world heritage.

The UNESCO is concerned about the erasure of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria, Bokova said, adding that they shared views on the need to face extremism and the strategy against erasing collective memory and history.

The two officials also called for saving the world's cultural heritage in particular the historical sites endangered by violence and extremism in the Middle East and for "the protection of cultural diversity and religious groups, particularly the minorities, from all kinds of persecution."

"We discussed ways to protect heritage and cope with extremism... I want Lebanon to be a stable country and this country is of importance for UNESCO," she said. Endit