Letter from the Mayors of Creative Cities Condemning Israel’s Recent Attacks on Iranian Territory: Education and Urban Security Are at Risk
The mayors of Iran’s Creative Cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network issued a joint message addressed to the Network’s 17th Annual Conference. Expressing regret that they were unable to attend the event due to the recent attacks on Iranian cities, they emphasized UNESCO’s role in promoting peace, supporting cultural ecosystems and ensuring respect for international law during armed conflicts. They also called on the Network’s Secretariat to adopt effective support measures to preserve the cultural life of member cities in times of crisis. The full text of the message is as follows: |
The mayors of five Iranian Creative Cities, as members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network:
- Recalling UNESCO’s vital and fundamental role in laying the foundations for peace and achieving sustainable development, and emphasizing the need to implement the customary rules of international humanitarian law, the four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Additional Protocols;
- Recognizing the equal right of all members to equal opportunities to foster a favourable cultural ecosystem free from tension;
- Acknowledging the priorities outlined in the 2023 MONDIACULT Declaration and emphasizing the role of peace for culture and culture for peace;
- Declaring their inability to participate in the 17th Annual Conference of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, to be held in France on 23 and 24 June 2025;
Despite the efforts and measures undertaken, and while wishing the aforementioned event every success in achieving its intended objectives, they wish to draw the attention of Network members to the following:
Unfortunately, during the recent attacks, the State of Israel launched airstrikes against the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, targeting the cities of Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Rasht, Sanandaj and Kermanshah. These attacks have endangered the cultural and social life and the creative ecosystems of these cities.
The Iranian Creative Cities that are members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network strongly condemn these recent actions and expect other Network members and the Network’s Secretariat to adopt appropriate protective and supportive measures for Network members during armed conflicts, in accordance with international law and UNESCO conventions. They further call for the outcomes of this request to be duly considered in the context of the 2025 MONDIACULT event and its declaration.
In the hope of a world filled with peace and free from violence, through creative cultural interaction.
