Cultural treasures are being destroyed worldwide - so why is no-one being punished?

August was a brutal month for Ukraine. Russian aerial attacks increased significantly, launching thousands of drones. Kyiv was intensely bombarded, as were the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa. Amid the destruction and loss of life, Odesa reported damage to six Unesco-protected sites, including the salmon-pink 19th Century Alexandru Sturdza House.

It raised again the question of why it is so hard to hold actors accountable for the destruction of buildings and objects with real cultural significance.

In the last month alone, Ukraine's Ministry of Culture reported that 148 cultural heritage sites were recorded as damaged or destroyed, including in Odesa.

Several Ukrainian activist groups have tried to get accountability by lodging complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russia over cultural destruction and looting, but no indictments have been issued.

Bijan Rouhani, a senior researcher at the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project, says that the legal framework may be strong on paper but in practice it almost inevitably falls short. "No state actor has ever been tried for this offence. The obstacle is no longer evidence. We have satellite imagery, remote sensing and monitoring teams. The obstacle is jurisdiction and political will."

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