The international legal protection of cultural property with particular focus on the fight against illicit trafficking

Jan Hladik

(UNESCO, Paris, France)

This presentation provides an overview of UNESCO standard-setting instruments for the protection of cultural property, and specifically the fight against illicit trafficking therein. It focuses on the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the 1954 Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. The complementary character of the UNIDROIT Convention in relation to the 1970 Convention will be discussed. The role of the UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural property will also be covered briefly.