Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property meeting at UNESCO

• © Allen N

The Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation will hold its 15th session at UNESCO Headquarters (room XII), from 11 to 13 May.

The three cases pending before the Committee will be up for further discussion.: the famous Parthenon Marbles, presently in the British Museum and claimed by Greece; the Hittite Sphinx of Boğazköy, involving Turkey and Germany; and the Makonde Mask claimed from Switzerland by Tanzania.

A highlight of the meeting will be the launch (11 May, 3-4 pm.) by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koďchiro Matsuura, of a collection of essays compiled by Lyndel Prott of the University of Queensland, Australia, entitled “Witnesses to History – Documents and Writings on the Return of Cultural Objects”. The first reference work on the subject published by UNESCO, it provides a wide range of perspectives on restitution of cultural property and procedures to follow.

Other topics to be presented to the 22 Committee members and discussed over the three days include UNESCO’s recent activities in Iraq; the proceedings of last year’s Athens International Conference on the "Return of Cultural Property to its Country of Origin”; strategy proposals for the Committee’s future work; a draft model law defining State ownership of cultural property; and alternative means for resolving conflicts in this domain.

The Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation was established by UNESCO in 1978 to provide a framework for discussion and negotiation. Its recommendations are not legally binding, but it has notably facilitated the exchange of artefacts between museums in Jordan and the United States, the return of over 7,000 cuneiform tablets from the German Democratic Republic to Turkey, and the return of over 12,000 pre-Columbian objects to Ecuador from Italy after a seven-year litigation.

• Author(s):UNESCOPRESS
• Source:UNESCO Media Advisory No. 2009 – 26
• 07-05-2009