The UNESCO web resource covers all resolutions, protocols and programmes initiated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization therefore has a massive body of information to navigate through that relate to all aspects of UNESCO operations. UNESCO has no authoritative power so it is dependent on signatories to uphold and support recommendations, treaties and declarations established by the United Nations for cultural property, sites and monuments. The Normative Action section of the site is where these areas of protocol are established and it is here that the site primarily addresses the area of illicit trade in cultural goods that occurs through armed conflict and occupation as well as restitution or repatriation processes.
The resolutions, conferences and protocols that specifically relate to this issue of illicit trade and its ongoing effects that are profiled on the site are outlined below.
• Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed conflict 1954
• Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 1999
• Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property 1970
• Statutes of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation 1978
The UNESCO website is organized as a portal, linking information across the relevant organizations that they run or such groups that act in partnership with the United Nations. Particularly relevant to the illicit trade in cultural goods are the three sections listed below that can be accessed through links within the index page of the Normative Action section of the site.
Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation
The General Conference of UNESCO elected, at its 32nd session (Paris, October 2003), 22 Member States to be members of the Intergovernmental Committee. Their term of office expires at the end of the 34th session of the General Conference of UNESCO (2007). The purpose of the Committee is to facilitate negotiations for the return of cultural property lost due to “colonial or foreign occupation or as a result of illicit appropriation.” The committees state overtly that any outcomes of mediation are not binding, the committee can request the return of property but the site is not specific in how this is enforced. In 1999 they established project funding to aid restitution suits. The funds are supplied on a voluntary basis by the signatories and private partners.
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Cultural Heritage Laws Database
This online database collates repatriation, return and restitution legislation from around the world for cultural property. The legislation and customs documents are provided in digital format as a reference for anyone seeking the return of stolen, pillaged or illegally acquired cultural property. Although the stated purpose for the site is to provide information for all users, the resource appears to be organised for international law specialists in particular.
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Unidroit
The Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects occured in Rome on the 24 June 1995. Unidroit is the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law. Based in Italy, the Institute is an auxiliary to the United Nations and operates similarly on an intergovernmental level. The 1995 convention was coordinated with UNESCO with the aim to eventually clear up the length of litigation and the uncertainty of outcome because of the inconsistencies between legislation of Member States in regards to the illicit trade of cultural property.
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