Peru proposes a code of conduct for NGOs following Greenpeace's ill-judged Nasca Lines protest

Many Peruvians were outraged in December 2014 when Greepeace staged a protest in support of renewable energy that involved laying yellow fabric letters near the Nasca Lines. The Nasca Lines are one of Peru's leading world heritage sites and encompass a series of gigantic geoglyphs etched into the Pacific coastal desert between 500 BCE and 500 CE. Peruvian officials accused Greenpeace of permanently damaging the geoglyphs, which in turn led to an embarrassing climb-down for the organization.

Greenpeace protest at Nasca Lines in December 2014

Now, Peru is promoting the approval of a code of conduct at UNESCO for NGOs and civil society organizations to respect countries' cultural heritage. According to the Agencia Peruana de Noticias, the code would establish expected behaviours to help preserve and conserve the world’s cultural heritage and prevent it from being damaged.

While this sounds like a worthy initiative, we will have to wait until the proposal is formally tabled at an upcoming UNESCO committee meeting in Namibia to gauge the level of support among other member states.