Documentation of crimes against cultural heritage of Ukraine: main projects and initiatives with the support of civil society

The article analyzes the projects initiated and implemented by the public, related to the documentation of crimes against the national cultural heritage (NCH) of Ukraine in the conditions of a full-scale Russian invasion. It is noted that the activity of public organizations in documenting crimes against the Ukrainian National Security Service is conditioned by the need to form a single database of crime records of the Russian Federation, which will allow solving a number of issues that will become urgent after the end of hostilities. The classification of motives for crimes against cultural values in conditions of armed conflict is presented; the ways of accounting for cultural heritage and the principles of documenting damage to cultural heritage are outlined. It is emphasized that there is no National Blue Shield Committee in Ukraine, which is being created with the support of the Blue Shield International (BSI) by the decision of four other committees: the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council for the Protection of Monuments and Historic Sites (ICOMOS), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Within the scope of the powers of the official representative of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions in Ukraine, the NPA "Ukrainian Library Association", together with the official representative in Ukraine of the International Archives Committee, the State Archives Service of Ukraine, once again raised the issue of the creation of the Committee and joined the development of its charter. And although the creation of such a representation in Ukraine does not guarantee protection from Russian vandalism, the international experience of involving non-governmental organizations, representatives of authorities, cultural heritage protection bodies, the State Emergency Service, the National Police, and the Prosecutor's Office in the mission to assess the damage to the NCH in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war will enable in the future, to achieve fair decisions on the implementation of the Hague Convention and to receive funding for the restoration of cultural values.