Hasankeyf, the Ilisu Dam, and the Existence of “Common European Standards” on Cultural Heritage Protection

The struggle to save Hasankeyf from the now imminent flooding in connection with the construction of the hydroelectric dam at Ilisu on the Tigris river in the southeastern part of Turkey has been the subject of international attention for decades. The first part of this paper describes the process with respect to the financing and construction of the dam, examining in particular the lessons learned as to the role of international standards on the protection of cultural heritage in development and their implementation through different actors and processes. The second part discusses the case against Turkey brought by Turkish citizens before the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the construction of the Ilisu dam, highlighting that -despite the outcome of the case -it might still be considered a step forward toward advancing public interest liti-* Berenika Drazewska holds an LL.M. and a Ph.D. in international cultural heritage law from the European University Institute (2016). In her doctoral thesis she examined the concept of military necessity in the context of protection of cultural heritage during armed conflicts. At the EUI, she was one of the coordinators of the Cultural Heritage Working Group which organized conferences, workshops, and seminars on legal issues relevant to cultural heritage protection. In 2012, Berenika interned in the International Treaties section of UNESCO in Paris. In 2016/2017, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, where she worked on issues of global cultural governance and accountability. She participated in several international conferences devoted to the protection of cultural heritage in international law, as well as published and peer-reviewed articles on the topic.