Financial assistance Ukraine

Special call: Applications for financial assistance for the protection of Ukraine’s movable cultural property

There is a lack of packaging material and transport options for saving art and religious treasures. Of the two statues of saints in the Jesuit Church of St. Peter and Paul in Lviv, only one has been wrapped protectively.
© IMAGO/Carol Guzy/IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

The Russian military invasion has put Ukraine’s cultural heritage at risk of destruction, looting, theft and illicit transfer. For this reason, applications for financial assistance to protect Ukraine’s movable cultural property can be submitted as of now to the FOC’s Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property.

The following two types of financial assistance can be granted:

Financial assistance for museums or similar institutions in Switzerland: for the temporary fiduciary custody and conservational care of cultural property from Ukraine at risk (TYPE A).
Financial assistance for projects run by international organisations, institutions, natural persons or legal entities: to maintain Ukraine’s movable cultural heritage, with a focus on projects that aim to prevent the destruction or theft of cultural property in Ukraine (TYPE B).

The financial assistance is being allocated in accordance with Article 14 paragraph 1 letters a and b, Cultural Property Transfer Act (CPTA, SR 444.1).
Applications should be submitted to the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property using the forms below:

Application form for financial assistance TYPE A (DOC, 53 kB, 28.03.2022)

Application form financial assistance TYPE B (DOC, 49 kB, 28.03.2022)

Protection of cultural property in armed conflicts

The protection of cultural property in armed conflicts falls primarily within the scope of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its additional protocols (keywords: "Blue Shield", "Safe Haven"). The section in charge of the protection of cultural property within the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) serves as a point of contact for all questions relating to the Hague Convention.

International legal bases

1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict