Protection of artists during times of conflict has no specific framework in international humanitarian law. However, cultural sites, artefacts and institutions are protected. Advocates working from the position of ‘cultural rights’ understand that artists who are specifically persecuted should be protected for defending human rights. Artists are targeted during conflict just like material culture for their symbolic contribution to society. During times of armed conflict, artists have few places to go. This worsens in protracted conflicts that drag on for generations. In contemporary South Sudan, conflict has driven out artists seeking protection and freedom of expression. This article contributes empirical evidence from South Sudan to reveal how artists experience the protection gap and how they become informal protection stakeholders. Identifying self-protection strategies gives insights for opening up further research on social and political phenomena impacting disputed territories or places impacted by long-term symbolic violence. In these contexts, this chapter shows the pathways artists take to not only seek shelter but to continue their work in exile.
Policy Implications
- International peacekeeping missions and associated UN agencies working in conflict zones should mandate training on the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in times of conflict. Training will also ensure that violence against cultural heritage is not perpetuated due to lack of knowledge relating to international laws. This awareness could also initiate missions from the Blue Shield or other specialist organisations that are dedicated to safeguarding cultural heritage.
- Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons settlements should understand the vulnerable positions that artists are in and help to define the unique risks that they take to maintain their right to freedom of expression. Provisions could be made for artists and cultural producers so that they can continue their work even in the contexts of displacement. Documentation, if done by administering agencies, can also identify the real threats to artists while they are in conditions of displacement and thus better support their return home or their journey into exile.
- Aid and development organisations that employ artists for their advocacy and outreach work in chronically insecure settings must develop tailored safety protocols. Artists working in precarious positions do not have specialist protections and are often put at further risk for their work with large-multinational organisations. Safety protocols can be informed by the organisation's own security measures together with the nuanced ways that artists have been keeping safe in the absence of protection provisions.
Photo by Josie Stephens