The "Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society" (Faro Convention), which was adopted by the Council of Europe in 2005 but to which Germany has not yet signed up, considers participation in cultural heritage to be a civil right. Karima Bennoune, the lawyer appointed by the United Nations as a Special Rapporteur for cultural rights, goes even further in her reports: where cultural heritage is attacked and destroyed, human beings and fundamental human rights are also under attack. The International Court of Justice in The Hague recently passed the first sentences on perpetrators who destroyed cultural assets for ideological reasons in armed conflicts. In his encyclical letter entitled Laudato Si’, Pope Francis emphasises the protection of culture and cultural heritage and considers it to be a valuable asset compared to economic desires: "The disappearance of a culture can be just as serious as the disappearance of an animal or plant species, or even more serious," he writes. During our conference, we want to discuss what effects a global understanding of cultural assets as part of civil and human rights or as part of creation would have for archaeology and heritage protection in Europe.