The Boards of International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies and of the International Academic Union have heard with sorrow and dismay of the pillage of the cultural treasures of Iraq, including those housed in the National Museum and the National Library. We deplore the fact that no steps were taken by the occupying powers to prevent the pillage of these treasures of inestimable value, whose loss cannot be replaced.

It is our belief that the cultural heritage of each nation is a part of the irreplaceable wealth of humankind. As such, it is worthy of our greatest efforts to preserve and to maintain it, whether it is found in historic sites, historic urban districts, cultural landscapes, buildings of unusual aesthetic value, archaeological sites, museums, libraries, archives, or other repositories of human memory.

What has been done cannot be repaired, except by efforts to retrieve stolen artifacts, and attempts to stop them entering the antiquities market. It is however important to impress upon governments their responsibility to protect the cultural heritage of a country against which or within which they conduct warfare, including by posting guards to watch over archeological sites, and by re-establishing local antiquities services as quickly as possible.