Looting of cultural property on the increase

Considered a foremost cause of criminality in the world today, the illicit traffic of cultural property pervades all regions of our planet. The opening of borders, the increasing number of armed conflicts, poverty, and the exponential growth of the art market are some of the factors accounting for the fact that cultural objects are so avidly coveted. UNESCO and its partners continue to wage the battle against a scourge that undermines the very identity of peoples worldwide.

To better fight such a reprehensible phenomenon, multilateral treaties have been elaborated:

  * Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and its two protocols (1954 and 1999)
  * UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970)
  * UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995)
  * Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001)
  * Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003)
  * Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005)

An information note has been prepared to facilitate the understanding of the complimentarity between and the functioning of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention.

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/admin/ev.php?URL_ID=35252&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201