Four Afghan Ministries participated in the meeting: the Ministry of Information & Culture; the Ministry of Defence; the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice. The three day meeting was convened as a first initiative for the implementation of the Convention in Afghanistan and to build consensus on the most urgent steps to be taken among the national authorities.

The meeting constituted a first platform for raising awareness on the contents of the Convention and its two (1954&1999) protocols, which Afghanistan ratified at the beginning of 2018, and for providing advice on possible implementation strategies. The meeting included presentations and discussions on the synergies between the 1954 Convention and other international conventions for the protection of cultural heritage, such as the 1970 (on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property) and 1972 (World Heritage) Conventions, and provided information on the current situation of heritage protection in Afghanistan, with a focus on inventories of movable and immovable properties.

A roadmap on the implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention and its two Protocols was adopted at the close of the meeting. It foresees the creation of a national committee on the implementation of the international humanitarian law with a subgroup dedicated to the protection of cultural property. It also contemplates a range of activities such as the regular update of inventories of movable and immovable cultural properties, the elaboration and periodic review of risk assessment and emergency plans, the elaboration of a Tentative List for enhanced protection, and the implementation of awareness-raising and capacity-building activities for the military and law-enforcement agencies.

The meeting ended with all the national and international participants and stakeholders reaffirming their commitment to the effective implementation of the Convention, recognizing its transversal nature and its strategic contribution in preventing intentional damage to cultural properties.