ICOMOS INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON FORTIFICATIONS AND MILITARY HERITAGE STATUTES I. Establishment Article 1 The ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Fortifications and Military Heritage (hereafter referred to as the Committee ) is established in accordance with article 14 of the ICOMOS Statute (adopted by the 5 th General Assembly) and the Eger Xi an Principles for international scientific committees (adopted by the 15 th General Assembly and amended by the Scientific Committee). II. The objective of the committee Article 2 The subject of study of the committee is historic fortifications and military heritage, and includes: i Structures, including fortifications, (including fortified towns), works of military engineering, arsenals, harbours and naval battlefields, barracks, military bases, testing fields, and other enclaves and constructions built or used for military and defensive purposes. ii Landscapes, including battlefields, territorial or coastal defence installations and earth works, ancient or recent. iii Commemorative monuments, including war memorials, trophies, cemeteries, cenotaphs, and others plaques or marks. III. Mission Article 3 The mission of the Scientific Committee on Fortifications and Military Heritage is: - To promote the knowledge of the structures, landscapes and monuments, including their historical, architectural, artistic and scientific values, and to encourage the preservation and maintenance of fortifications, military structures, fortress landscapes and other objects and sites connected with the military heritage. - To be available to help ICOMOS accomplish its role in the context of international conventions (especially the World Heritage Convention and the Hague Convention) and in its cooperation with UNESCO and other International Organizations, and be willing to receive mandates from the Executive Committee to that effect. - To carry out specialized studies and promote the application of professional expertise in regard to the preservation problems of historic fortifications and military heritage. - To pursue actively international cooperation for the identification, protection and preservation of historic fortifications, military structures, military landscapes and sites, other military heritage monuments, alone or with cooperation with: 1
i ii iii National and International Scientific Committees of ICOMOS, especially with respect to ICOMOS work with UNESCO s Cultural Heritage Division and World Heritage Center. Other cooperative partners of ICOMOS, for example ICCROM, ICOM, DOCOMOMO, TICCIH and Blue Shield. Other international and national bodies, such as NATO, Ministries of Defence of different countries, Ministries of Culture of different countries. IV. Aims and Activities Article 4 In order to fulfill its mission, the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Fortifications and Military Heritage will undertake multiples activities that will include, but not be limited to: - Establish links and networks among conservation professionals, architects, historians, landscape architects, military architecture specialists, archaeologists, recording and inventory specialists, cultural heritage specialists and other professionals. - Establish close cooperation with the other National Committees and International Scientific Committees of ICOMOS. - Establish contacts with and between the relevant institutions, universities, nongovernmental organizations and government organizations that specialize in the research, preservation, conservation and management of historic fortifications, defensive structures and fortress landscapes and sites. - Organize and encourage the promotion and exchange of ideas, knowledge, experience and the results of research in regard to fortifications, military heritage and fortress landscape resources, their values, the possibilities of their preservation, appropriate conservation methods, and principles of proper maintenance. - Gather pertinent information, to include the creation of a database for the historic fortifications, military heritage and fortress landscapes and sites which takes into consideration the specific needs of the various geographical regions, types and conditions. Create a database for fortification monuments in danger. - Promote the exchange and dissemination of knowledge about military heritage by various means, such as publications, international conferences, symposia, workshops, practical tutorials and specialized courses. - Provide scientific expertise for specific projects and for solving difficult or complicated preservation and conservation problems that relate to the military heritage. - Carry out specialized studies on professional issues with which ICOMOS is concerned. - Define and adopt an ICOMOS Scientific Program for the preservation of historic fortifications and military heritage, which reflect worldwide and regional needs in the field and in UNESCO. - Organize campaigns; initiate the processes for the protection of the most valuable fortifications, military heritage and fortress landscapes and try to initiate the procedures for those monuments to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in the mother countries. - Closely cooperate with experts and groups of specialists and help ICOMOS in its work and programs to fulfill its obligations to UNESCO and the World Heritage Convention as related to military heritage. 2
- Help ICOMOS in the preparation and implementation of guidelines for the inclusion of military heritage properties in the List of World Heritage in Danger and the list of the fortification and military heritage monuments at risk. - Cooperate with specialists responsible for handling heritage properties in many Ministries of Defence, NATO, and other regional defense organizations to promote in their policies and operations programs for the protection of military heritage, especially military heritage at risk. - Submit an annual report on its activities to the ICOMOS Bureau (Secretary General). V. Membership, Executive and Boards Article 5 For the purposes of Article IV of the Eger-Xian Principles, the Committee shall establish an application and review process for the categories of membership set out in the following Articles. Article 6 Expert members (a) Expert membership is open to ICOMOS members with established expertise in the different spheres related to the historic fortification and military heritage field. (b) Candidates for expert membership may be nominated by a National Committee, be self nominated or directly invited by the Committee. (c) Subject to paragraph (d), only expert members may vote on matters before the Committee. (d) Voting for the election of the members of the bureau, and on amendment of the committee s statute, is on the basis of one vote per country, and only expert members designated by a National Committee as its representative on the Committee may vote on these matters. (e) The Committee takes its decisions by majority vote of the members entitled to vote on a question present at the meeting. Present at the meeting are also absent voting members who have given proxy to present voting members. A voting member shall not represent more than two absent voting members. Postal voting may also be undertaken, as decided by the Committee Bureau. (f) Where under a provision of these Statutes, a decision may be made by postal vote to be carried out by letter. But if a voting member so decides, a vote may be sent by any of the followings; Telefax (must be signed by the voter), electronically (votes will be accepted only from members who have beforehand registered a verifiable electronic address with the Bureau, by postal mail. Article 7 3
Associate membership Associate membership is open to ICOMOS members engaged in activities relevant to the object of the Committee, who apply to the committee. Article 8 Institutional membership Institutional membership is open to institutions, academic programs, government agencies, or other judicial entity whose work and mission are closely aligned to the object of the committee, who apply to the committee. Article 9 Honorary membership Honorary membership may be granted in recognition of services rendered to the committee and of activities that further its object. Article 10 Members of the Bureau have a term of office of three years. The members of the Bureau should not serve more than three consecutive periods in the same Bureau position. Article 11 (1) The Bureau of the Committee consists of: President A maximum of four Vice-Presidents Secretary-General Such number of coordinators up to 6 as the Committee decides. (2) The President, Vice Presidents and Secretary-General must come from at least 3 different countries, and the coordinators must come from different continents. Article 12 The Committee shall appoint a secretariat to support the administration of the Committee and implement the Committee s program. The Secretariat shall carry out the activities set out in Article IV 9 of the Eger Xi an principles, including being responsible for permanently archiving all material related to the activities, program and elections of the committee. If the Secretariat is moved, the Committee archives shall be transferred to the new Secretariat. Article 13 The Bureau is responsible for drafting the Committee s Scientific Program, for cooperation with other ICOMOS Scientific Committees, for cooperation with other international institutions, the preparation of the Committee s meetings, the implementation of the Committee decisions, the preparation of the election process and the annual report. VI. Finance Article 14 4
The activities of the Committee shall be financed by funds allocated by ICOMOS from its annual budget, when available, or by funds obtained by the Committee on its own initiative, from international and national sources and through funds from gifts, bequests, donations, contracts or sponsorships towards the achievement of the objective of the Committee. The Committee shall keep the Executive Committee of ICOMOS informed of its funding and fundraising efforts, and coordinate such activities as directed by it. Article 15 Members of the Committee are responsible for financing their own participation in the activities of the Committee, especially their presence at meetings, unless special funds are secured for these purposes at any given time. VII. Languages Article 16 The official languages of Committee are English, French and Spanish. Communication within the Boards will be English. VIII. Miscellaneous Article 17 Any revision to these Statutes shall be made in accordance with the Statutes of ICOMOS. The Executive Committee of ICOMOS shall arbitrate any disputes over the interpretation of the Statutes. Article 18 The Statutes enter into force upon their approval by the Executive Committee of ICOMOS. 5