Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in 2012, the EU and UNESCO have undertaken a number of joint initiatives to strengthen the regulatory environment and promote capacity-development, supported by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC).
The current project "Inter-regional and crosscutting action aiming to strengthen the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property" is a continuation of a series of projects related to the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property.
Click here to find out more about the previous projects (2016-2019).
Click here for resources and outcomes of the EU-funded projects.
Inter-regional and crosscutting action aiming to strengthen the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property (2019-2022)
The current project offers capacity development for a diversity of professionals on a broadened geographical scope. In addition to the EU Member States, the Members States in the Western Balkans and the partner countries of the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) South are invited to actively participate in the project.
UNESCO/EU Workshop on the Role and Means of the Financial Sector in fighting illicit trafficking of cultural property
Videos of the workshop sessions:
EN FR Introductory Session
EN FR Session 1 / Regulatory Frameworks to fight money laundering and illicit trafficking
of cultural property - theory and practice
EN FR Session 2 / Practical Examples and Solutions to fight money laundering and illicit
trafficking of cultural property / Concluding remarks
How can the financial sector fight the illicit trafficking of cultural property and associated money-laundering? What is its role? What are its tools? What are its obstacles?
On 27 January 2022, UNESCO organised an online workshop to answer all these questions and more, with the support of the European Union, bringing together experts, researchers, representatives of the European Central Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction, the European Banking Authority, the European Banking Federation, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other members for enriching debates.
Programme EN | FR
Biographies EN
Announcement | More information
Workshop for the European Neighbourhood Instrument South partner countries on the implementation of the UN resolutions on the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural goods and its links with the financing of terrorism
Videos of the workshop sessions:
EN FR Session 1 / Introductory Session - UNESCO and European Union in the fight against illicit trafficking
EN FR Session 2 / Snapshot of an ENI South Country
EN FR Session 3 / The United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
EN FR Session 4 / The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism
EN FR Session 5 / INTERPOL
EN FR Session 6 / Training on Cultural Heritage, Crime and Security
On 28 October 2021, UNESCO, in the framework of its cooperation with the European Union, hosted a capacity-development workshop for EU Neighbourhood South Partner countries (ENI) addressing the implementation of UN Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions relating to the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property.
To know more about the resources and the results of this workshop, click here
Joint UNESCO/ICOM workshop for European museum and cultural heritage professionals
Videos of the workshop sessions:
EN FR Session 1 / Opening – Museums and their role in fighting illicit traffic
EN FR Session 2 / Collections’ Management and Preventive Conservation
EN FR Session 3 / Due Diligence and Practical Tools
EN FR Session 4 / Cooperation with Law Enforcement Agencies
EN FR Session 5 / International Cooperation and Education
On 4 and 5 October 2021, UNESCO, in partnership with ICOM, hosted a capacity-development workshop for museum and cultural heritage professionals from European Union (EU) Member States. The workshop aimed to raise awareness on cross-cutting cooperation and to strengthen the network of museum and cultural heritage experts to enhance mechanisms to fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property in Europe and beyond.
To know more about the resources and the results of this workshop, click here
Peer-to-Peer Workshops
The peer-to-peer exchange was developed in a pilot format of several sessions to facilitate the sharing of experiences and good practices among professionals and thus enhance inter-regional cooperation among three States Parties to the 1970 Convention:
- Algeria as representative of the ENI South partner countries and a source country,
- Serbia as representative of the Western Balkans and a transit country
- The Netherlands as representative of the EU Member States and a destination country.
Facets of the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property - expert voices
Today's stolen object is tomorrow's lost memory
Cultural goods: a particular case
Preventive measures
Trafficking and financing of terrorism
The role of the experts
Online sales platforms
Cross-cutting cooperation