A/HRC/31/68 F. Destruction of cultural heritage 85. During the period under review, the lives of two leading scholars of Syrian antiquity as well as irreplaceable objects of cultural heritage were lost because of intentional targeting and indiscriminate attacks. 86. When ISIS captured Tadmur (Homs) in May 2015, the group also gained control of the ancient city of Palmyra. The systematic razing of millennia-old structures and objects began shortly thereafter. 87. Shortly after capturing Palmyra, the terrorist group barred employees from the Palmyra museum, destroying invaluable artefacts inside. Khaled Asaad, a highly-regarded archaeologist and head of antiquities in Palmyra, was detained. On 18 August, after Mr. Asaad’s refusal to disclose the location of valuable artefacts, ISIS publicly executed him. His death is a loss not only to his family but also to the cultural heritage of the Syrian Arab Republic. 88. In July, the terrorist group destroyed Assad al-Lat, the Lion Statue, a symbol of the city. ISIS also forced residents to watch fighters destroying funerary busts in a public square in Tadmur. On 24 August, it destroyed the Temple of Baalshamin, built in 1 A.D. A week later, it detonated explosives around the Temple of Baal. In early September, the group destroyed seven funerary towers, including the Tower of Elahbel, built in 103 A.D. On 5 October, the Arch of Triumph, one of most recognizable sites of Palmyra, was destroyed. The loss of this cultural heritage has been confirmed by satellite imagery (see annex V). 89. On 21 August, ISIS desecrated then destroyed the Mar Elian monastery in Al Qaryatayn (Homs). A video released by the group showed the destruction of the monastery and the exhumation of the remains of Saint Elian, martyred in 3 A.D. 90. The destruction by ISIS is driven partly by its wish to create a territory in which only its forms of cultural expression exist. It is also an attempt to project the group’s dominance, its ability to annihilate other forms of identity and to impose its world view on populations under its control. In destroying these sites, and publishing photographs in its English-language magazine, ISIS emphasizes that it acts without fear of accountability. 91. Those trying to protect Syrian cultural heritage have been killed and injured during indiscriminate attacks. In August, the Assistant Director of Laboratories at the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums, Qasem Abdullah Yehiya, was killed in a rocket attack on the national museum and the Damascus citadel; five other employees were injured. On 24 December, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that clashes had caused severe damage to the 2nd-century Roman theatre and parts of the Ayyubid citadel in Bosra al-Sham (Dar’a). 92. Deliberate attacks on properties of great cultural importance, such as those perpetrated by ISIS, stand as clear violations of international customary humanitarian law and are a war crime. 93. While most multilateral instruments concerning the protection of cultural heritage – such as the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention) – refer to the State as their primary subjects, the significance of cultural heritage to all humanity has led to non-legally binding statements on the obligations of the international community. Part VI of the Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, adopted at the thirty-second session of the General Conference, states that States should “take all appropriate measures to prevent, avoid, stop and suppress acts of intentional destruction of cultural heritage, wherever such 13