Return or Restitution of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 10 Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, published in 2013.

What other versions does this mandate have?

18 versions · 1979–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/133

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2024	A/RES/79/133	Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin	5,877	81%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/16	Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin	4,811	83%Compare
2018	A/RES/73/130	Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin	4,194	72%Compare
2015	A/RES/70/76	Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin	3,423	58%Compare
2013	A/RES/67/80	Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin	2,793	51%Compare

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Cultural Property Cultural Property Protection Cultural Property Restitution Destruction of Property Information Dissemination Information Exchange Training Programmes

What’s in this document?

29 operative paragraphs

Commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation on the work they have accomplished, in particular through the promotion of bilateral negotiations, for the return or restitution of cultural property, the preparation of inventories of movable cultural property and the implementation of the Object-ID standard related thereto, as well as for the reduction of illicit traffic in cultural property and the dissemination of information and tools to the public, institutions, Member States and others, and encourages the continuation of such endeavours;

Notes the support provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to launch international awareness-raising and training campaigns for museum experts, police forces, Customs services and legal experts in Africa, Latin America, South-Eastern Europe and the Caribbean from September to December 2012, aimed at preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property by providing the legal and operational knowledge and directly applicable skills to strengthen the protection of cultural property;

Calls upon all relevant bodies, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and other relevant intergovernmental organizations to work in coordination with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, within their mandates and in cooperation with Member States, in order to continue to address the issue of return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin and to provide appropriate support accordingly;

Recognizes the leading role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in combating trafficking in cultural property, and encourages the Organization to continue to provide leadership and expertise in protecting cultural property to other international bodies, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL);

Reaffirms the importance of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property,Error: Reference source not found the Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects,Error: Reference source not found the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed ConflictError: Reference source not found and the two Protocols thereto,Error: Reference source not found the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,Error: Reference source not found the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage,Error: Reference source not found the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural HeritageError: Reference source not found and the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,Error: Reference source not found and invites Member States that have not already done so to consider becoming parties to the aforementioned conventions and protocols that specifically address the return and restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin;

Takes note of the report of the meeting on the fortieth anniversary of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, held in Paris at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, on 15 and 16 March 2011, and of the Declaration of the International Forum on the Return of Cultural Property, held in Seoul on 19 July 2011;

Notes with appreciation the first meeting of the special committee to review the practical operation of the Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, held at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 19 June 2012;

Welcomes the decision of the second meeting of the States parties to the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which adopted the rules of procedure of the meeting of States parties, by which, inter alia, it was decided that the meeting of States parties should be convened every two years, and which established a subsidiary committee that will be convened every year by the secretariat in order to, inter alia, promote the purposes of the Convention, review national reports, and prepare and submit to the meeting of States parties recommendations and guidelines that can help the implementation of the Convention and identify problems arising from its implementation;

Notes the authorization given to the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to convene in the first half of 2013 an extraordinary meeting of the States parties to the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, charged notably with electing the members of the subsidiary committee, as well as the encouragement to the Director General to convene the first meeting of the committee in the first half of 2013;

Recognizes the importance of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property,Error: Reference source not found notes that the Convention has still not entered into force, and invites Member States that have not already done so to consider becoming parties to the Convention;

Deplores damage to the cultural heritage of countries in situations of crisis, conflict and post-conflict, in particular recent attacks on world cultural heritage sites, calls for an immediate end to such acts, and reminds States parties to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of the provisions contained therein to safeguard and respect cultural property and to prohibit, prevent and, if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of and any acts of vandalism directed against cultural property;

Welcomes the most recent efforts made by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the protection of the cultural heritage of countries in conflict, including the safe return to those countries of cultural property and other items of archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific and religious importance that have been illegally removed, and calls upon the international community to contribute to these efforts;

Urges Member States to introduce effective national and international measures to prevent and combat illicit trafficking in cultural property, including by publicizing legislation and offering special training for police, Customs and border services and to consider such trafficking a serious crime, as defined in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;¹⁴

¹⁴United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2225, No. 39574.

Invites Member States, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to continue to draw up systematic inventories of their cultural property;

Invites States to consider establishing and developing national, regional and international databases inventorying cultural property, which would also register trafficked, illicitly exported or imported, stolen, looted or illicitly excavated, and illicitly dealt-in, cultural property, and encourages States to enhance the exchange of information by sharing or interconnecting inventories of cultural property and databases on trafficked, illicitly exported or imported, stolen, looted or illicitly excavated, and illicitly dealt-in, cultural property and contributing to international inventories and databases;

Recognizes the advancement of the Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which includes legislation from 180 Member States, and invites Member States to provide their legislation in electronic format for inclusion in the database if they have not yet done so, to provide regular updates to the database and to promote it;

Applauds the efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote the use of identification and inventory systems, in particular the application of the Object-ID standard, and to encourage the linking of identification systems and existing databases, including the one developed by INTERPOL, to allow for the electronic transmission of information in order to reduce illicit trafficking in cultural property, and encourages the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to make further efforts in this regard in cooperation with Member States, where appropriate;

Notes the adoption by the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation, at its sixteenth session, from 21 to 23 September 2010, of the rules of procedure for mediation and conciliation,¹⁵ and invites Member States to consider the possibility of using such processes as appropriate;

¹⁵A/67/219, annex I, recommendation No. 4.

Welcomes the presentation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law of model provisions on state ownership of undiscovered cultural objects, and encourages Member States to consider using these model provisions and adopting effective legislation for the establishment and recognition of States’ ownership of their heritage, as appropriate under national laws, with a view to facilitating restitution in cases of unlawful removal;

Notes the Model Export Certificate for Cultural Objects developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Customs Organization as a tool to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property, and invites Member States to consider adopting the model export certificate as their national export certificate, in accordance with domestic law and procedures;

Takes note of resolution 102 adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its thirty-sixth session in November 2011 on the reports by Member States on the measures taken for the implementation of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property;¹⁶

¹⁶United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Records of the General Conference, Thirty-sixth Session, Paris, 25 October–10 November 2011, vol. 1 and corrigenda: Resolutions.

Recognizes the public awareness and increased mobilization and action in favour of heritage values achieved in 2002, the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage, and on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and calls upon the international community and the United Nations to continue to cooperate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the basis of that work;

Invites those who deal with trade in cultural property and their associations, where they exist, to encourage the effective implementation of the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property, as endorsed by the General Conference of the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 16 November 1999,¹⁷ the International Council of Museums Code of Ethics for Museums and other existing codes;

¹⁷United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Records of the General Conference, Thirtieth Session, Paris, 26 October–17 November 1999, vol. 1 and corrigendum: Resolutions.

Welcomes the initiative of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to hold discussions with the representatives of the international trade in art in order to improve practices and raise awareness in such areas as provenance investigations, ethics, restitution procedures and knowledge of the international legal framework;

Recognizes the importance of the International Fund for the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation, launched in November 2000, and invites Member States to increase further their voluntary contributions to the Fund in order to enhance its efficiency, and to make use of the Fund;

Also recognizes the importance of cooperation among States in the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property, as well as its illegal removal from the countries of origin, through, inter alia, the conclusion of bilateral agreements and mutual legal assistance, including the prosecution of persons involved in such activities and extradition, in accordance with the laws of cooperating States and under applicable international law;

Requests the Secretary-General to cooperate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its efforts to bring about the attainment of the objectives of the present resolution;

Also requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to submit to the General Assembly at its seventieth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session the item entitled “Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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