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Resolution 2234 (2018)
Deliberate destruction and illegal trafficking of cultural heritage
1. Cultural heritage has social and
political value, as well as intrinsic worth. It stands for the ideas
and achievements which have shaped human development; throughout
history, it has been celebrated as a manifestation of creativity,
but it has also been targeted in times of conflict as a symbol of
identity to be attacked in order to demoralise, defeat and eradicate
populations.
2. Due to its intrinsic worth, cultural heritage has been legitimately
commissioned, displayed, bought and sold, but it has also been stolen,
looted, trafficked and forged for illicit financial gain. Notably,
in Iraq and Syria, Daesh has been plundering the region’s cultural
heritage, deliberately destroying important archaeological sites
and profiting from the sale of valuable excavated artefacts.
3. Illegal trafficking in cultural heritage has always been transnational,
feeding into a black market trade in antiquities, art and artefacts.
Nowadays, the black market is moving away from the traditional means
of trading towards social media and the internet. Moreover, the
Assembly is concerned that these illicit financial gains are used
to fund corruption, terrorism and violence.
4. In this context, the Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution 2057 (2015) and Recommendation 2071 (2015) on
cultural heritage in crisis and post-crisis situations, and the
Namur Declaration adopted at the 6th Council of Europe Conference
of Ministers responsible for Cultural Heritage (2015) and welcomes
the work undertaken as a result of this decision which has led to
the new Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural
Property (CETS No. 221), adopted in Nicosia in May 2017.
5. The new convention builds on the existing legal framework,
following the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Convention for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (“the Hague Convention”)
(1954) and its two protocols (1954 and 1999), the UNESCO Convention
on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export
and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), the International
Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) Convention on
Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995) and the various
regulations and directives of the European Union; it therefore aims
to close the gaps which remain in criminal law.
6. Accordingly, the Assembly recommends that the member States
of the Council of Europe:
6.1. sign
and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating
to Cultural Property;
6.2. sign and ratify, if they have not yet done so, the UNESCO
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event
of Armed Conflict and its protocols, the UNESCO Convention on the Means
of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer
of Ownership of Cultural Property and the UNIDROIT Convention on
Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects;
6.3. establish close co-operation between relevant ministries,
involving also public agencies, the police, customs and specialists
in the trade in art and antiquities, and set up a central national
authority which would also be a focal point for international co-operation;
6.4. engage in international co-operation (on gathering evidence,
convicting perpetrators and recovering objects) between source,
transit and final destination countries, enabling the exchange of information,
the harmonisation of laws and the standardisation of procedures
and expectations of due diligence at all levels of the marketing
chain; and in particular:
6.4.1. establish regularly maintained
digital inventories for the safeguarding of cultural property with
regulated, differential levels of access and common standards in
denomination and description of objects and sites to facilitate
international co-operation, inter alia through
Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art database;
6.4.2. introduce mandatory “passports” for cultural objects in
order to facilitate object identification and data exchange, by
using the Object ID standard (including photographs as part of the
record) developed by the Getty Information Institute and hosted
by UNESCO;
6.4.3. harmonise mandatory import and export procedures (including
the photographic requirement) to combat widespread falsification
of documentation;
6.4.4. develop accredited training programmes for all those professionally
concerned with the protection of cultural property, including museum
staff, military personnel, police, customs officers and archaeologists;
6.4.5. create incentives for the legitimate art market to participate
in all substantive discussions in combating trafficking and creating
a more open and transparent market, urging adherence to codes of
practice, explaining proper procedures to the wider public and participating
fully in eradicating contraband;
6.5. engage in co-operation activities with the Council of
Europe, UNESCO, UNIDROIT and other relevant international organisations,
with a view to:
6.5.1. codifying the international requirement
of due diligence for auction houses, dealers (with an obligation
to establish records of transactions) and individual purchasers,
following the creation of the Code of Ethics for Museums by the
International Council of Museums (ICOM); and develop guidance for
private buyers in co-operation with established dealers and auction
houses;
6.5.2. creating incentives for internet marketing platforms,
such as eBay, to regulate internet transactions and use the procedures
which are required for the legitimate art market, namely to publicise
and prevent potential illegality in transactions and insist on the
presentation of documentation on provenance alongside the object;
6.5.3. developing strategies required for the protection of threatened
heritage in archaeologically sensitive potential combat zones, and,
if feasible, provide technical and financial assistance to their
effective implementation; participate in the training initiative
launched by UNESCO and the Italian Government for the United Nations
Emergency Taskforce for Culture (the “Blue Helmets for Culture”)
in Turin.