The Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments or Roerich Pact is an inter-American treaty. The most important idea of the Roerich Pact is the legal recognition that the defense of cultural objects is more important than the use or destruction of that culture for military purposes, and the protection of culture always has precedence over any military necessity.
Russian painter and philosopher Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947)[1] initiated the modern movement for the defense of cultural objects, for the idea of "Peace of Civilizations". Besides the recognition as one of the greatest Russian painters,[according to whom?] Roerich's most notable achievement during his lifetime was the Roerich Pact signed on 15 April 1935 by the representatives of American states in the Oval Office of the White House (Washington, DC). It was the first international treaty signed in the Oval Office.[2]
Nicholas Roerich was born on 9 October 9, 1874, in St. Petersburg. His parents encouraged him to study law, but seeing their son's inclination for painting, they allowed him to study both, which he did with much success. In 1900, Roerich went to Paris to take lessons from Fernand Cormon, the well known tutor of Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, he married Helena Shaposhnikova, who later developed the Agni Yoga philosophy. Soon Roerich became quite a successful painter. One of his paintings was purchased by Russian Tsar Nicolas II himself. Roerich also worked as stage and costume designer for several operas and ballets by Maurice Maeterlinck and Igor Stravinsky, premiered in St. Petersburg.
In 1917, Roerich went to live near a lake in Finland, to strengthen his health. After the border between Russia and Finland was closed in 1918 in the context of the October Revolution and Finnish Civil War, the family travelled across several Scandinavian countries to Great Britain and eventually left for North America in 1920. There, Roerich founded two cultural institutions: "Cor Ardens" (Flaming Heart, a fraternity of artists from several countries) [3] and "The Master Institute of United Arts" (an organization for education, science, and philosophy).[4]
In 1923, the Roerich Museum was founded in New York. In 1929, it moved to a new building. Presently, the Roerich Museum is located in Manhattan, at the corner of 107th Street and Riverside Drive. In 1929, Roerich's work towards the pact was recognised through a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.[5]
After leaving America, the Roerichs settled at Naggar in the Kullu Valley from which their estate looked towards the Himalayas. Here they established the Urusvati Institute which remains in Naggar with an exhibition about the pact. Nicholas Roerich died on 13 December 1947.
Origins
An idea about the protection of cultural monuments was formulated for the first time by Nicholas Roerich in 1899. During his excavations at Saint-Petersburg province, Roerich began to point to the necessity of protection of cultural monuments, which reproduce a world-view of ancient people for us.[citation needed]
In 1903, Roerich together with his wife Helena Ivanovna Roerich toured through forty ancient Russian cities, including Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yuriev-Polsky, Smolensk, Vilnius, Izborsk and Pskov. In 1904, proceeding the expedition, Nicholas Roerich has visited Uglich, Kalyazin, Kashin and Tver. During these travels Roerich created a large series of architectural studies, created near 90 paintings of the visited sites. Later many Russian churches were destroyed and these paintings remain the only documenting images.[citation needed]
Summarizing these trips, the painter admired the beauty of the ancient monuments. Roerich, expressing his feelings for the state of their protection, in his article "Along the old times" (1903): "Last summer I had an occasion to see many our true antique and little love to it".
In 1904, Roerich gave a report to the Emperor's Russian Archeological Society about the sad state of historical monuments and the necessity to take prompt actions to protect them.
During the Russo-Japanese war (1904–1905), Roerich expressed an idea about the necessity of a special treaty for the protection of institutions and cultural monuments. In the course of several years after his travel in 1903–1904, Roerich repeatedly pointed out the state of antique monuments. He wrote several articles dedicated to the poor state of the churches. In the article "Silent Pogroms" (1911) Roerich wrote about the unskillful restoration of St. John the Forerunner Church at Yaroslavl: "Who would defense a beautiful antique from mad pogroms? It is grievously when the antique dies. But it is more terrible when the antique remains disfigured, false, imitation ...".
In 1914, Roerich appealed to the high command of the Imperial Russian Army, as well as the governments of the United States and France with an idea of conclusion of an international agreement aimed on the protection of cultural values during armed conflicts. He created a poster "Enemy of Mankind" denouncing the barbaric destruction of cultural monuments, and picture "Glow" expressing a protest against World War I.
In 1915, Roerich wrote a report for Russian Emperor Nicholas II and Great Prince Nicholas Nikolayevich containing an appeal to make real state measures for national protection of cultural values.
In 1929, Roerich, in cooperation with G. G. Shklyaver (a.k.a. Georges Chklaver), a doctor of international law and political sciences at the University of Paris prepared a project of the Pact for protection of cultural values. Simultaneously Roerich proposed a distinctive sign to identify the objects that are in need of protection – the Banner of Peace. It consists of a white cloth with a red circle and three red circles inscribed in it.
Draft and ratification
In 1929, Roerich, again in collaboration with Professor Shklyaver, prepared a draft of an international treaty dedicated to protection of cultural values. The scheme was to be a cultural analog to the Red Cross for medical neutrality.
In 1930, text of draft agreement with accompanying Roerich's appeal to governments and peoples of all countries was published in press and distributed in government, scientific, artistic and educational institutions of the whole world. As a result, the committees supporting the Pact were established in many countries. The draft pact was approved by Committee for Museum affairs at League of Nations and also by the Committee of the Pan-American Union. Ultimately, the Pact was signed by 21 states in the Americas and was ratified by ten of them.
In the aftermath of World War II, the Roerich Pact played an important role in forming of international law standards and public activity in the field of protection of cultural heritage. In 1949, at the fourth UNESCO General Conference, a decision was accepted to begin the work for international law regulation in the field of cultural heritage protection in case of armed conflict.
Ideas of Roerich Pact still are not implemented in the international law, especially its principle of the almost unlimited preference of the preservation of cultural values to the military necessity.[citation needed]
Delegates of Second international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact. Bruges, August 1932.
From the book "Banner of Peace" /Compilers O.N. Zvonareva, T.O. Knizhnik, N.G. Mikhailova. – Second edition, supplemented and revised. – Moscow, ICR, 2005. – (series "Large Roerich's library").
1930 – A project together with N. Roerich's covering appeal to governments and peoples of all the countries was published and communicated to the governments, scientific, artistic and educational institutions of the world.
- Project of the Pact was represented to Committee on Museum affairs at League of Nations, and further it was referred to international committee for intellectual cooperation.
- Committees of the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace were founded in Paris and Bruges (Belgium)
1931 – An International Union of the Roerich Pact was founded at Bruges under the guidance of a member of Belgium Committee for monument protection Camille Tulpinck[nl].
- 13–15 September – first international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact has been organized at Bruges. Representatives from group of European countries took part in this conference. A plan of promotion of the Pact ideas at educational institutes was developed, and contacts of International Union of the Roerich Pact with an International Committee for art affairs and Organization Committee for arms reduction were established.
1932, 7–9 September - second international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact had been organized at Bruges. Twenty two countries took part in its work. The Conference has resolved to found at Bruges a special institute for world assistance to implementation of the Roerich Pact ideas in public life. It also took a decision to appeal to all the countries to recognize the Pact as international treaty.
1933, 15 November – Organizing Committee of third international Conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact visited the USA President F. Roosevelt.
- 17–18 November – Third international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact was carried out in Washington. Thirty five countries have supported this conference and recommended the governments of all the countries to sign the Pact.
- December – 7th Pan-American Conference in Montevideo (Uruguay) has passed a resolution which recommended to the governments of American countries to join with the Roerich Pact.
1934, 4 April – A report of special committee of Pan-American Union dedicated to Roerich Pact was approved.
- 11 August – USA President F Roosevelt has authorized a minister of agriculture Henry A. Wallace to sign the Roerich Pact from USA.
- 2 September – A Committee of the Pact and Banner of Peace was formed in Harbin (Manchuria).
- A Committee for promotion of the Pact was formed at Bulgaria.
1935, 15 April – A Treaty named "international pact for protection of artistic and scientific institutions, historic monuments, missions and collections" (Roerich Pact) is concluded and signed by representatives of 21 American states at the White House, Washington. A distinctive sign for identification of the protected objects (Banner of Peace) proposed by Roerich was approved in the frameworks of the Pact.
- 2 July – the Pact was ratified by USA Senate.
- 10 July – the Pact was ratified by USA President.
- 26 August – the Pact enters into legal force after being ratified by its second state party, Cuba.
- 25 October – the Pact was promulgated by USA President.
President F. Roosevelt talked in his radio speech: "Presenting this Pact for signing by all the countries, we strive for that its world acceptance becomes a vital principle for preserving of modern civilization. This agreement has more profound significance than the text of this document" [1].
1937, October – First Congress of Baltic Roerich societies has resolved to create the committees of Roerich Pact in all Roerich societies of Baltic countries.
- First congress of international research (Paris) unanimously accepted a resolution about joining to the Roerich Pact.
1938, 17 November – the Banner of Peace was spread out in Karachi (India).
1948, August – Indian government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru has decided to approve the Roerich Pact.
1948-1949 – Italian association of Roerich Pact at Bologna has organized the work to support the Pact on a broad footing. Committees of the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace worked in Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, France, England, Portugal, Brazil, Columbia, Uruguay, Bolivia and Cuba.
1949 – 4th UNESCO general conference has taken a decision to begin a work for international-law regulation in the field of cultural values protection during the military actions.
1950 – A New York Committee of the Roerich Pact has transferred all the documentation about the Pact to UNESCO. 5th session of general UNESCO conference entrusted the general director with preparation and sending of a draft of convention. Special committee of UNESCO has prepared the draft of international convention in view of given documents.
1995, 26 June – Banner of Peace was presented to Gebhardt von Moltke, deputy of secretary for political questions at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Banner of Peace over the Museum named after N. Roerich in Moscow.
1997 – Banner of Peace was given to the crew of Soviet orbital station "Soyuz-TM" in the frameworks of scientific-enlightener project "Banner of Peace". It was delivered to orbital station "Mir" and remains in cosmos during two years (August 5, 1997 – August 28, 1999), accompanying the work of international crews.
1998, 9 October – Banner of Peace was hoisted over the Centre-Museum named after N. Roerich in Moscow.
1999, 5 January – Banner of Peace was presented to President of Kazakhstan Republic Nursultan Nazarbayev at President Palace (Almaty). Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and Professor Sergey Kapitsa took part in the ceremony. - 26 March – Second protocol to "Convention for protection of cultural values in case of armed conflict" (Hague, 1954) was signed in Hague. The document was written by six languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French.
2000, 8 January – Banner of Peace was established at Southern Pole.
- 28 January – Banner of Peace from the Southern Pole was presented to U.N.O. General Secretary Kofi Annan as a gift from expedition centre "Arctic", International Centre of the Roerichs and the project "Banner of Peace".
2003, 17 October – The Convention about protection of non-material cultural heritage was accepted by 32nd session of the General UNESCO conference.
2004, 25 October – Banner of Peace from the board of cosmic station "Mir" was presented to Speaker of Indian Parliament Sri Somnath Chatterjee on the occasion of 100th Sviatoslav Roerich's Anniversary.
The Pax Cultura emblem.50 years of the Roerich Pact
"Pax Cultura" ("Cultural Peace" or "Peace through Culture") is the motto of the cultural artifact protection movement founded by Nicholas Roerich, and is symbolized by a maroon on white emblem consisting of three solid circles in a surrounding circle. On April 15, 1935, the Roerich Pact was signed by the United States and Latin American nations, agreeing that "historic monuments, museums, scientific, artistic, educational and cultural institutions" should be protected both in times of peace and war, and identified by their flying a distinctive flag, the Banner of Peace, bearing the Pax Cultura emblem.
According to the Roerich Museum, "The Banner of Peace symbol has ancient origins. Perhaps its earliest known example appears on Stone Age amulets: three dots, without the enclosing circle. Roerich came across numerous later examples in various parts of the world, and knew that it represented a deep and sophisticated understanding of the triune nature of existence. But for the purposes of the Banner and the Pact, Roerich described the circle as representing the totality of culture, with the three dots being Art, Science, and Religion, three of the most embracing of human cultural activities. He also described the circle as representing the eternity of time, encompassing the past, present, and future. The sacred origins of the symbol, as an illustration of the trinities fundamental to all religions, remain central to the meaning of the Pact and the Banner today."[7]
The Roerich Pact sign was superseded by the distinctive marking of cultural property as defined by the Hague Convention of 1954. However, the emblem of the Roerich Pact is still a valid protective sign in the relations between the ten states which are bound by the Pact.
World League of Culture and World Day of Culture
In the broad sense the Roerich Pact is understood as not only a legal treaty but also as a whole complex of measures for the protection of cultural values suggested by N. Roerich. Consequently, the Roerich Pact has not only legal but also philosophic, enlightening, and evolutional significance since it reflects an idea of cultural protection in its many manifestations.
Characterizing the Roerich Pact, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov wrote:
If we are raising a culture and spirituality then it will help us to strengthen an economics, to make the policy moral and to stop the military conflicts. This is a significance of the Roerich Pact today. The more time is passed the more actual for the world it becomes. ...
Developing the Pact ideas N. Roerich has stated the thoughts about a role of community. The laws for culture protection in itself will not work if the community will not display an activity and interest to this. Later this thought was supported by academician D. S. Likhachev. He said:
... I believe that the best and freely developing social forms of culture can unite creative constructive forces and improve a social life, thereby help the state to maintain high ideals of humanism and peacefulness in the people. ...
At the first international conference of Roerich Pact in Bruges (September, 1931), N. Roerich proposed to create a World League of Culture. One of main aims of the League must be to train care of the nature.
In his article "Pain of the Planet" (1933) N. Roerich wrote: "The call about culture, call about the world, and call about creativity and beauty reaches the ear which is strengthen by true values only. Understanding of life as self-improving for the people's good arises where the respect of the nature is valid. Therefore, the League of Culture together with main enlightener activity must wholesale explain a wise regard for the nature as an origin of merry work, wise joy, continuous cognition and creativity".
The cultural community highly appreciates N. Roerich's thought about the implementation of World Day of Culture. N. Roerich wrote: "... We shall hear about the world Day of Culture too when at all schools and enlightener societies simultaneously the day will dedicated to comprehension of the national and world cultural treasures ..."
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity".
Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh, better known as Nicholas Roerich, was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, philosopher, and public figure. In his youth he was influenced by Russian Symbolism, a movement in Russian society centered on the spiritual. He was interested in hypnosis and other spiritual practices and his paintings are said to have hypnotic expression.
The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the body of secular international law. A third conference was planned for 1914 and later rescheduled for 1915, but it did not take place because of the start of World War I.
Helena Ivanovna Roerich was a Russian theosophist, writer, and public figure. In the early 20th century, she created, in cooperation with the Teachers of the East, a philosophic teaching of Living Ethics. She was an organizer and participant of cultural activity in the U.S., conducted under the guidance of her husband, Nicholas Roerich. Along with her husband, she took part in expeditions of hard-to-reach and little-investigated regions of Central Asia. She was an Honorary President-Founder of the Institute of Himalayan Studies "Urusvati" in India and co-author of the idea of the International Treaty for Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments. She translated two volumes of the Secret Doctrine of H. P. Blavatsky, and selected Mahatma's Letters, from English to Russian.
The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is the first international treaty that focuses exclusively on the protection of cultural property in armed conflict. It was signed at The Hague, Netherlands, on 14 May 1954 and entered into force on 7 August 1956. As of July 2021, it has been ratified by 133 states.
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by society.
The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is an international treaty adopted in October 2005 in Paris during the 33rd session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In response to the fears that globalization would lead to an increasingly uniform global culture, it allows states to protect cultural diversity by promoting and defending their own cultural industries. It also establishes international co-operation to help protect the cultural industries of developing countries, including the creation of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity. It reaffirms many of the principles of the 2001 UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity but, unlike that declaration, it is legally binding and requires legal ratification by member states. The convention is the first international treaty to give cultural goods a special status, having cultural as well as economic value.
Roerich is a surname. People with that name include:
The Blue Shield, formerly the International Committee of the Blue Shield, is an international organization founded in 1996 to protect the world's cultural heritage from threats such as armed conflict and natural disasters. Originally intended as the "cultural equivalent of the Red Cross", its name derives from the blue shield symbol designed by Jan Zachwatowicz, used to signify cultural sites protected by the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict.
Protective signs are symbols to be used during an armed conflict to mark persons and objects under the protection of various treaties of international humanitarian law (IHL). While their essential meaning can be summarized as "Don't shoot" or "Don't attack", the exact conditions implied vary depending on the respective sign and the circumstances of its use. The form, shape and color of these signs are defined by the rules of IHL. Usually, they are easy to draw in order to make even an improvised use as easy as possible, and they were chosen to be as concise, recognizable and visible as possible under all circumstances.
A war trophy is an item taken during warfare by an invading force. Common war trophies include flags, weapons, vehicles, and art.
There have been several designs for a peace flag.
The World Heritage Convention, formally the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, is an international treaty signed on 23 November 1972, which created the World Heritage Sites, with the primary goals of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. The convention, a signed document of international agreement, guides the work of the World Heritage Committee. It was developed over a seven-year period (1965–1972).
Cultural property law is the body of law that protects and regulates the disposition of culturally significant material, including historic real property, ancient and historic artifacts, artwork, and intangible cultural property. Cultural property can be any property, tangible or intangible, having special significance to a defined group of people, whether or not the group is vested with a traditional property interest. Cultural property laws may be international or domestic.
The banner of peace is a symbol of the Roerich Pact. This pact is the first international treaty dedicated to the protection of artistic and scientific institutions and historical monuments. It was signed on April 15, 1935. The banner of peace was proposed by Nicholas Roerich for an international pact for the protection of culture values.
The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity is a declaration adopted unanimously by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its thirty-first session on 2 November 2001. It calls on nations and institutions to work together for the preservation of culture in all its forms, and for policies that help to share ideas across cultures and inspire new forms of creativity. It interprets "culture" in a broad sense and connects the preservation of culture to central issues of human rights. It defines a role for UNESCO as a space in which different institutions can develop ideas on cultural diversity, which has been a theme of many of UNESCO's activities in the years since. The primary audience of the declaration includes UNESCO's member states as well as international and non-governmental bodies, but other organisations and individuals have also been inspired by it.
The Swiss Agency for the Protection of Cultural Property defines measures to protect cultural property against damage, destruction, theft and loss. For this purpose, a legal basis has been established at the national level and international agreements have been made that oblige Switzerland to respect and support the protection of cultural property not only on its own territory but also on the sovereign territory of other state parties.
Roerichism or Rerikhism is a spiritual, cultural and social movement that emerged in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, though it has been described as a "thoroughly Russian new religious movement", due to its close connection with Russia.
The Universal Day of Culture under the Banner of Peace, known also as the World Day of Culture, is an observance held annually on April 15 in many countries around the World to promote the protection of culture, the Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace.
"The Spoils of War—World War II and Its Aftermath: The Loss, Reappearance, and Recovery of Cultural Property" was an international symposium held in New York City in 1995 to discuss the artworks, cultural property, and historic sites damaged, lost, and plundered as a result of World War II. The three-day event was sponsored by the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. The conference was organized by Elizabeth Simpson, an archaeologist and professor at the Bard Graduate Center.
L. Shaposhnikova.Roerich’s Pact Urgency in Today’s World "Roerich's Pact Urgency in Today's World" Published in magazine "Cultura i Vremya" ("Culture and Time") No. 4, 2005.
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