THE DESTRUCTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE: PROSECUTING THE ERASURE OF NATIONAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITY

Andrea Matačić Cayley, JD PhD will discuss crimes against cultural heritage and attempts to get accountability for them from Nuremberg to the present.  She will introduce the legal framework that protects cultural heritage and punishes those that destroy it.  Her discussion will start with the Second World War and will cover the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the armies in the former Yugoslavia and the current crimes being committed in Ukraine.  She will introduce us to the intent behind these crimes and why this is not just an attack on property but on national and ethnic identity.

Professor Cayley is the Executive Director of the Center for Law and Global Affairs and a professor of Practice at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. Since 2022, she has been a coordinator and expert advisor for the Atrocity Crimes Advisory group (ACA), the official US/UK/EU response to war crimes in Ukraine.  She works directly with the Office of the Prosecutor General Ukraine advising on the prosecution of cases involving the destruction of cultural heritage. By supporting Ukraine, the ACA is helping set precedents for how cultural heritage crimes are investigated, documented, and prosecuted in real time during an ongoing war. She has authored numerous publications on war crimes and international human rights.  Andrea has a BA from Columbia University, an MA from the University of Zagreb, a JD from Temple University, and a PhD from Leiden University.

To participate, please send an email to Ems Magnus magnusems@gmail.com

She will send you the zoomlink one week before the lecture. The lecture is in English and will be recorded. The zoomlink will also be sent to the national LC presidents for further distribution. The lecture is about 45 minutes followed by a discussion.

With thanks to Lauriane Bradford, President LC London, for the introduction of this remarkable woman.