Stolen Works of Art

NOTING that close co-operation between national law enforcement agencies and cultural institutions makes investigations more efficient,

RECOGNIZING that the illicit trafficking in cultural property stolen, pillaged or illegally exported from Iraq affects all the regions of the world regardless of their geographic situation and requires careful controls over the importation and exportation of cultural property,

UNDERLINING the need to protect the archeological sites of Iraq which are subject to continuous and systematic destruction and looting,

AWARE of the increased use of the Internet for the sale of illicit cultural property from Iraq,

EMPHAZING the need for centralization and dissemination of information relating to the seizure of Iraqi cultural property and the arrest of individuals involved in the trafficking of such goods,

RECOMMEND:

1. That law enforcement agencies and cultural institutions strengthen their co-operation on a national level in order to upgrade their efficiency in protecting Iraqi cultural property;
   
   
2. That national law enforcement agencies monitor the art market, and in particular the Internet, in connection to the sale of Iraqi cultural property;
   
   
3. That Interpol National Central Bureaus systematically communicate as soon as possible by means of the 'Iraqi cultural property recovery form' to the General Secretariat all relevant information pertaining to the seizure of Iraqi cultural property, to allow for the proper analysis of the information and the production of intelligence packages to assist law enforcement agencies, in protecting the cultural property of Iraq;
   
   
4. That the Iraqi authorities concentrate their efforts on the protection of archaeological sites within their country and develop a specialized Iraqi security force for archaeological sites. In the interim, that Coalition military forces contribute to the security of these sites whilst they remain within Iraq;
   
   
5. That the international organizations co-operate closely to avoid the duplication of efforts, and allow for the better allocation of financial, material and human resources;
   
   
6. That all countries that have not yet done so, examine with a view to ratifying the UNESCO 1970 and UNIDROIT 1995 Conventions to fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property;
   
   
7. That all countries that have seized Iraqi cultural property first notify the Iraqi authorities, Interpol and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, and then ensure that it is stored in locations that provide security and optimum conservation conditions until the time that it is returned to Iraq;
   
   
8. That UNESCO, in co-operation with the International Co-ordination Committee for the Safeguarding of the Iraqi Cultural Heritage and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, facilitate the coordination of the official return of Iraqi cultural property seized and held abroad to Iraq when the Iraqi authorities determine that the situation there so permits;
   
   
9. That UNESCO, ICOM and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture promptly implement the project to complete computerized inventories containing basic information, as well as a 'collections management' system for all Iraqi museums;
   
   
10. That all concerned parties join in a concerted effort to train Iraqi professionals in the preservation, protection and management of Iraqi cultural heritage.