Return or Restitution of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin

A/RES/56/97No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 33Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, published in 2002.

What other versions does this mandate have?

18 versions · 1979–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/133

2024A/RES/79/133Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of originLatestCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/76/16Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of originCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/73/130Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of originCompare with previous version
2015A/RES/70/76Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of originCompare with previous version
2013A/RES/67/80Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of originCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics

Coordination Within UN System Cultural Property Cultural Property Protection Cultural Property Restitution Databases Funds Illicit Traffic Report Preparation Standards

What does this mandate say?

14 operative paragraphs

Commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation on the work they have accomplished, in particular through the promotion of bilateral negotiations, for the return or restitution of cultural property, the preparation of inventories of movable cultural property and the implementation of the Object-ID standard related thereto, as well as for the reduction of illicit traffic in cultural property and the dissemination of information to the public;

Reaffirms the importance of the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict,Error: Reference source not found and invites Member States that have not already done so to become parties to the Convention and to promote its implementation;

Welcomes the adoption of the Second Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, adopted at The Hague on 26 March 1999, and invites all States Parties to the Convention to consider becoming parties to the Second Protocol;

Invites Member States to consider adopting and implementing the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property;Error: Reference source not found

Reaffirms the importance of the provisions of the Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects,Error: Reference source not found and invites Member States that have not already done so to consider becoming parties to it;

Urges Member States to introduce effective national and international measures to prevent and combat the illicit trafficking in cultural property;

Calls upon all relevant bodies, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and other relevant intergovernmental organizations to work in coordination with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, within their mandates and in cooperation with Member States, in order to continue to address the issue of return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, and to provide appropriate support accordingly;

Invites Member States to continue drawing up, in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, systematic inventories of their cultural property;

Reaffirms the efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote the use of identification systems, in particular the application of the Object-ID standard, and to encourage the linking of identification systems and existing databases, including the one developed by the International Criminal Police Organization, to allow for the electronic transmission of information in order to reduce the illicit trafficking in cultural property, and encourages the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to make further efforts in this regard in cooperation with Member States, where appropriate;

Welcomes the adoption of the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 16 November 1999, and takes note of the creation by the General Conference at the same session of the International Fund for the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation, which was launched in November 2000 on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property;

Encourages the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to define and implement a strategy for the effective promotion of the International Fund, and invites Member States, intergovernmental bodies, the private sector and other interested donors of the international community to make voluntary contributions to the Fund;

Requests the Secretary-General to cooperate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its efforts to develop all possibilities, including any further initiatives, for bringing about the attainment of the objectives of the present resolution;

Also requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-eighth session the item entitled “Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin”.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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