Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
[1]: Art.1 This extends to the protection of shipwrecks, sunken cities, prehistoric art work, treasures that may be looted, sacrificial and burial sites, and old ports that cover the oceans' floors.
As part of its duty to conduct scientific research and provide continuous education on the importance of underwater cultural heritage, UNESCO strives to maintain these sites for the enjoyment of current and future generations.
As an international body, member states of the convention agree to work towards the preservation of sunken cultural property within their jurisdiction and the high seas.
Along with the 100-year limitation period, the 2001 UNESCO Convention included the phrase 'cultural, historical or archaeological character' as the qualifying concepts that define underwater cultural heritage.
[1] Articles 22–35 clarify a number of points relevant to the functional aspects of the Convention, such as the creation of statutory bodies, the settlement of disputes between states parties, and modes of ratification.
[8] On a broader level, this law seeks to fulfil public policy objectives including the safety of life and property, while ensuring the protection of the global marine environments.
[9] In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was developed to govern the deep-sea beds vis-à-vis increasing commercial exploitation of sunken objects.
[10] In light of the emergence of newly independent states, a need was created for an international legal body that would help protect underwater cultural goods, in waters used by many parties worldwide.
"[11] To ensure that member states abide by the regulations stipulated within the Convention, they are to further adopt the following; 1 Each Party is to adopt domestic legislation that prohibits nationals and vessels from engaging in activities that would purposely interfere with the protection of underwater cultural heritage 2 Each Party is to require that all nationals and vessels report any new discoveries to UNESCO and fellow member states that are considered to be a part of underwater cultural heritage located in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Continental shelf and Area 3 Each Party is to take appropriate measures to prevent the dealing of objects considered to be underwater cultural heritage.
[12] The effects of these earthquakes, and several more in the centuries that followed suggest that the large monument may have fallen into the sea, leaving massive blocks of stone awaiting the exploration mission led by archaeologist Jean-Yves Empereur in 1994.
While its failures still remain a mystery, is estimated that at least 500 men were trapped in the ship, and only 35 of these escaped to safety [13] In 1982, sixty million people watched as the vessel was lifted out of its resting place, with its 19,000 discovered objects still intact.
Due to the preservation of this monument of underwater cultural heritage in the Mary Rose museum, the public can continue to enjoy the vessel and all of her artifacts.
[14] Under the orders of King Gustavus II Adolphus, the immense vessel was built to support Swedish military campaigns during the Thirty Years' War, yet was toppled by swift winds at sea.
Modern scholars refer to this area as being "inhabited by wild, uncivilized tribes, who were active marauders of the land and sea, and were constantly reinforced from the interior".
In 2006, the UNESCO Convention was ratified by an additional state, Portugal, needing international protection for the looting of its underwater cultural heritage sites.
At least six international treasure hunting organizations had established themselves off the coasts of Portugal to reap the benefits of the nation's coastline after new legislation had allowed for the sale of artifacts collected underwater during archaeological excavations in 1993.
[18] Today, Portugal is one of the nations that is protected by the body of the UNESCO Convention, wherein the commercial exploitation and dispersion are legally banned, and underwater archeological sites and wrecks are preserved for the future.
Abstaining from signing the 2001 UN Convention, the United States has stipulated that the term "all traces of human existence" is too broad, legally and as a mechanism tool for the protection of underwater cultural heritage for the preservation of future generations.
