Protecting Universal Human Heritage: H.E. Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s Interview with the Antiquities Coalition
December 9, 2015
His Excellency Ibrahim al-Eshaiqr al-Jaafari, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Prime Minister, Republic of Iraq gave a stirring presentation at the New York Forum on September 24, 2015, and spoke directly to the Antiquities Coalition. In this interview, the Iraqi Foreign Minister emphasizes the collective need for saving Iraqi ancient antiquities and heritage through legal enforcement of national regulations and international conventions. Mr. al-Jaafari stresses that Iraqi heritage is universal, regardless of religious creed or nationalities, and states that cultural racketeering should be prosecuted as a war crime. Mr. al-Jaafari was one of the two Vice Presidents of Iraq in the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to 2005 and served as Prime Minister of Iraq in the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, and has been in his current capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs since September 2014. Mr. al-Jaafari holds a medical degree from Mosul University.