UNESCO’s director general, Irina Bokova, has called for the creation of “protected cultural zones” around heritage sites in both Syria and Iraq.

Speaking at an international conference on threats to cultural heritage, Bokova suggested the city of Aleppo, and particularly its Umayyad Mosque, would be a good starting point, saying: “It is not too late to take action.”

Inside the proposed zones, there would be an enhanced focus on preventing attacks on cultural heritage and illicit trafficking in cultural properties. As part of the plan, local education and culture training would be implemented, along with humanitarian aid to protect human rights and vulnerable civilian populations. It would also serve to secure areas of cultural significance and act as a safe haven for the vulnerable civilian population.

Recent satellite imagery has shown that five out of six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites have been "significantly" damaged by the country's civil war, with the only site appearing to remain relatively unscathed being the ancient city of Damascus. Iraq isn’t faring any better, with reports of continued destruction of heritage sites on a near-daily basis.

“There can be no purely military solution to this crisis.” said Bokova. “To fight fanaticism, we also need to reinforce education, a defence against hatred, and protect heritage, which helps forge collective identity.” The message was backed up by the UN’s special envoys for both Syria Iraq.

The UNESCO conference brought together some 500 decision-makers, experts and representatives from both Iraq and Syria, plus international curators and academics. During the conference, participants also expressed strong support for the proposal of an international ban on the trading of antiquities from Syria, in line with the recommendation of the Sanctions Monitoring Team to the UN Security Council.