In the 1950s, voices were raised to condemn the upsurge in the looting of archaeological sites, and the dismantling of ancient monuments. The subject had already been discussed in the 1930s, and had even resulted in a draft international treaty by the League of Nations.
But it was only in the aftermath of the Second World War, in a context marked by independence movements, that the issue of illicit trafficking in cultural property gained momentum. The young states emerging from these movements – anxious to recover the elements of their cultural heritage preserved in the museums of former colonizing countries – agitated for an international treaty that would put an end to the plundering.
In April 1964, UNESCO appointed a committee of experts to draw up recommendations for a future convention. Six years later, the 1970 Convention was born. The Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property – the first international legal instrument for the protection of cultural property in peacetime – was adopted at the UNESCO General Conference in 1970. It entered into force on 24 April 1972, after being ratified by three countries: Bulgaria, Ecuador and Nigeria.
The signatory States undertook to adopt protective measures within their territories (including the creation of national inventories and specialized police units), to control the circulation of cultural goods – their illicit import, in particular – and to return stolen cultural property.
In 1978, the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) was established. The Committee deals specifically with the return or restitution of lost or looted cultural property, particularly for cases that occurred before the 1970 Convention – which has no retroactive effect – came into force.
The arsenal of legal measures against the trafficking of cultural goods was completed in 1995, with the adoption of the UNIDROIT ( International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. It covers all stolen cultural property – including items that have not been inventoried and declared – and stipulates that all stolen goods must be returned. In 1999, UNESCO published the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property, which has become a reference for art and antiques dealers.
The Convention now has 140 States Parties. In the fifty years of the instrument’s existence, UNESCO, through the Convention, has conducted campaigns to raise awareness of the issue; helped many countries develop national laws and preventive measures, and encouraged the restitution of cultural property illegally removed from their territories.
Many museums around the world – like the British Museum in London and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles – have adopted 1970, the date of the Convention, as the year from which the provenance of objects must be questioned. This makes it more difficult to circulate objects that have recently been trafficked.
Art traffickers: Pillaging peoples’ identities, The UNESCO Courier, October-December 2020
Photo: © Carabinieri