The role of UNESCO observers
During the attack on Dubrovnik, UNESCO officials in cooperation with the employees of the Institute for the Restoration of Dubrovnik and the Institute for the Protection of Monuments recorded and categorized war damage on specific monuments and also helped in carrying out urgent measures aimed at conserving the cultural heritage of the City.
As the UNESCO observers Colin Kaiser and Bruno Carnez happened to be in Dubrovnik during the most violent attack (on 6th December 1991), both the preliminary and the detailed report to the Director General were immediately sent. Based on those reports the UNESCO World Heritage Committee included Dubrovnik on the List of World Heritage in Danger on 12th December 1991.
The result of the cooperation of UNESCO experts and local and national institutions in charge of the safeguarding and restoration of cultural heritage was a Plan of Action for the protection of Dubrovnik’s cultural heritage damaged in 1991 and 1992 and an invitation for the international community to participate in the restoration process. The Director General of UNESCO, Federico Mayer, came to Dubrovnik on 22nd December 1991 in order to mark the beginning the restoration mission in the City of Dubrovnik.
The Director General Mayer also reacted fiercely in September 1995, after the shelling of the wider Dubrovnik City area by Serbian forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina, warning that any attack on the City would be considered a crime of war.
UNESCO had an active role throughout the restoration process in Dubrovnik, just like it did in the accompanying promotional and educational activities.