On April 19, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, gave a speech during a side event sponsored by the Holy See dedicated to “Protecting Endangered Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict.”  

Archbishop Auza structured his remarks on Pope Francis’ words at the end of his November 30, 2016 general audience in which he said that the theme of the protection of cultural patrimony in conflict zones is “dramatically current” and underlined that the protection of cultural riches is an “essential dimension of the defense of the human being” and a “new stage in the process of the implementation of human rights.”

The statement can be found here.