In the framework of the 1999 Second Protocol to The Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, there is a provision for enhanced protection of certain monuments in the member-states of the Protocol in the case of armed conflict. This protection is granted under three conditions:
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the site is of a greatest importance to humanity;
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it is protected by adequate domestic legal and administrative measures recognizing its exceptional cultural and historic value and ensuring the highest level of protection;
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it is not used for military purposes or to shield military sites.
Cyprus along with Italy and Lithuania were the first member-states that succeeded in granting enhanced protection to their monuments. In particular the enhanced protection status refers to the World Heritage Monuments of Cyprus, which are already inscribed in the World Heritage List (Choirokitia, Palaepaphos and Nea Paphos, Byzantine Churches of Troodos).