The situation of the cultural heritage in central and eastern Europe

The situation of the cultural heritage in central and eastern Europe

Reply to Recommendation 1172 (1992)

Doc. 7449

8 January 1996

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 14 December 1995 at the 552nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies

            The Committee of Ministers refers to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1172 (1992) on the situation of the cultural heritage in central and eastern Europe, to which an interim reply was given in April 1992 and a supplementary reply in September 1993.

            The Committee of Ministers wishes to add to its last reply information referring to recent activities implemented by the Council of Europe with a view to protecting the cultural heritage in central and eastern Europe.

            As it had announced in its previous replies, the Cultural Heritage Committee (CC-PAT) has consistently given high priority in its work to the situation of the moveable heritage.

            Initially, the Committee was involved in the setting up of a system for the protection of the moveable heritage, under Article 1 of the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (ETS 121), by establishing "Guidelines for the Integrated Conservation of Historic Complexes and their Moveable Heritage". On a proposal by CC-PAT, the Committee of Ministers approved, in September 1995, the creation of a Select Committee of Experts on the moveable heritage, responsible for verifying the legal aspects of these "guidelines" with a view to their being transformed into a draft Recommendation. This Select Committee of experts met in Strasbourg on 4 December 1995. Two meetings of this Committee are included in the draft 1996 Programme of Activities with a view to completing this work.

            The CC-PAT also drew up a technical document listing specific measures for the countries of eastern and central Europe, following the intergovernmental meeting held in Prague on 11-13 November 1993, in order to approach the situation of the moveable heritage in these countries, in accordance with the wishes expressed by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Recommendation 1172 (1992).

            These measures cover, in particular, the policies to be developed in the areas of inventorying the heritage, crime prevention, and trade in the moveable heritage on both national and international markets.

            The situation of the moveable heritage in Europe was also on the Agenda of the first meeting of directors and senior officials responsible for the cultural heritage in States parties to the European Cultural Convention organised by the Council of Europe on 7 September 1995, in Paris, at the invitation of the French authorities.

            The participants acknowledged that the illegal trade in cultural items poses a major problem of serious concern to all governments, both in central and eastern Europe and in western Europe, especially because of its extent and the increase in criminal activities which it gives rise to.

            For the first time, there was a consensus in this area. The directors and senior officials responsible for heritage came out in favour of urgent action by the Council of Europe, which they asked to provide a framework for dialogue between the various individuals and entities concerned: national administrations, museum curators, the police and customs services, art markets and representatives of churches whose places of worship are major targets of theft and criminal acts in illicit traffic of cultural goods. Such a dialogue, to be developed in liaison with the European Union, UNESCO, Interpol and other organisations active in this field, such as Unidroit, might trigger proposals aimed at reviewing or adding to existing legal instruments, expanding effective international co-operation and, possibly, setting up machinery for information exchanges on criminal action on and illicit traffic of cultural goods, and promoting actions designed to raise awareness among all the partners concerned.

            With a view to starting this dialogue, the Secretariat proposed to organise, in 1996, a series of information meetings so that different sectors can learn from each other the problems they face. In 1997, the CC-PAT will convene a forum open to all partners in Strasbourg.

            Although all these measures are aimed at each and every State that is a contracting party to the European Cultural Convention, to an equal extent, they are of special importance for the States of central and eastern Europe, as they are especially prone to the theft and illegal export of works of art.

            The Paris meeting also tackled the state of the cultural heritage of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (both contracting parties to the European Cultural Convention). Participants supported the idea that the Fourth session of the European Conference of Ministers Responsible for the Cultural Heritage, due in Helsinki on 30 and 31 May 1996, might launch an operational programme in favour of the cultural heritage destroyed in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. If this were to be the case, the Committee of Ministers would definitely study with the closest possible attention any recommendations that might be addressed to it by the Conference, with a view to their possible implementation as part of the Council of Europe's various programmes aimed at the States of central and eastern Europe.

            Finally, the Cultural Heritage Committee continued implementing the following specific action plans for:

- the Baltic countries (technical co-operation programmes aimed at revitalising the Abava valley (Latvia) and the historical centre of Tallinn (Estonia));

- Croatia (the technical co-operation programme for the Sibenik cathedral and the Count's palace of Zadar have been achieved). The technical co-operation programme for the revitalisation of the Tvrda citadel continues with the support of an ad hoc inter-departmental committee, set up by the Croat Government. A professional workshop on in-job training in heritage crafts took place in Zagreb on 11 to 13 June 1995;

- Slovenia (technical co-operation programme on sustainable and integrated development of the Karst region on the Slovenian coast);

- the Russian Federation (following discussions with the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation the Working Party on Technical Co-operation and Assistance of the Cultural Heritage Committee adopted a specific action plan for the Russian Federation to be implemented as of 1996).

            The technical co-operation programmes for the revitalisation of the cities of Telc (Czech Republic) and Bansk� Stiavnica (Slovak Republic) continue with the support of the ad hoc inter-departmental committees set up by their respective authorities.