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GCC Culture Ministers Discuss Review of Cultural Strategy

The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture participated in the 27th meeting of the GCC Culture Ministers in Muscat. SPA
The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture participated in the 27th meeting of the GCC Culture Ministers in Muscat. SPA
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GCC Culture Ministers Discuss Review of Cultural Strategy

The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture participated in the 27th meeting of the GCC Culture Ministers in Muscat. SPA
The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture participated in the 27th meeting of the GCC Culture Ministers in Muscat. SPA

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq participated on Thursday in the 27th meeting of the GCC Culture Ministers, which was held in Muscat.

Al-Touq represented Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan at the meeting, which discussed several items on its agenda.

Several recommendations and decisions were taken, including a review of the cultural strategy of the GCC countries, the annual plan for joint cultural events and activities, the account for joint cultural activities, the culture statistics platform, and the vision for developing joint work between the tourism and culture sectors.

The meeting also discussed the Center for Translation, Arabization and the Promotion of Arabic, the international cooperation in the cultural field, and the protection of the Gulf societies' religious, moral, and family values. It also discussed the meeting of the next session, which will be chaired by Qatar.

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UN Rights Office Warns of Israel’s Threat to Baalbek, Other Archaeological Sites in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
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UN Rights Office Warns of Israel’s Threat to Baalbek, Other Archaeological Sites in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday expressed alarm over “the continuing grave impact” of Israeli military operations on civilians and civilian targets in Lebanon, including the destruction of places of worship and risks posed to invaluable archaeological sites.

The office said that since Israel’s air force ordered the northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek evacuated, airstrike that followed have “come perilously close” to the ancient Roman-era temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Destruction of cultural heritage “depletes the historical and cultural identity of the communities it represents,” it said.

The sites destroyed or severely damaged so far include mosques in the southern villages of Yaroun, Maroun el-Ras, Blida, and Kfar Tibnit, OHCHR said, adding that a Melkite Greek Catholic church in the port city of Tyre was also damaged in early October.

Civilian objects, buildings dedicated to religion and other sites of cultural significance are protected from attack under international humanitarian law unless they become military objectives, the office said.

It stressed that should the sites lose their protection, any attacks upon them must still comply with the principles of proportionality and precaution, and that all parties to the conflict should take special care to avoid damage to buildings dedicated to religion or other sites of cultural or historical significance.