By Edna Ezinneamaka Onunaku
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in cooperation with the International Police (INTERPOL) is geared towards opening a virtual museum of stolen cultural properties by the year 2025.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Audrey Azoulay, announced this in a message today, 14 November 2022, on the occasion of the International Day against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property.
Ms Azoulay said it will serve as an educational tool, so that citizens can find out about the history of the works, and as a research tool on the provenance of items of uncertain origin. She revealed that there is an ongoing training of law enforcement, judicial actors and museum professionals for this purpose, and that by the end of the year, nearly 100 professionals in 23 African countries would have been trained.
“In addition, in consultation with the art market, we are conducting a review of the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property, as their role is essential in the establishment of more rigorous acquisition policies and ethical rules,” she stated.
Azoulay noted that “although the theft of such famous paintings as Van Gogh’s The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring in 2020, and Munch’s The Scream in 2004, had a significant impact on the general public, they represent only a tiny fraction of what constitutes trafficking in cultural property,” adding that “the trade in the shadows is growing on the back of crises and conflicts and is branching out online.”
She, therefore, calls on everyone to be more vigilant in the face of the increase in trafficking, adding that it is time to abolish the scourge.