France, Nov. 7 -- For the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), preserving cultural heritage helps to ensure that histories and identities are not erased in conflicts such as those currently being waged in Palestine, Sudan and Yemen.

"Cultures do not necessarily exist within national borders. There have always been exchanges, interactions and mutual influences across the globe. Culture must not be used for political ends," says Krista Pikkat, director of Unesco's Culture and Emergencies Unit.

The deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, due to its symbolic, religious and historical value, has become increasingly common over recent decades, starting with the wars of the 1990s in the former Yugosla...