UNESCO joins forces to promote accountability for the destruction, looting and trafficking of cultural heritage by terrorist groups

Although the links between terrorism and the destruction of or trafficking in cultural heritage artefacts are well known, efforts to investigate and prosecute the destruction, looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property by terrorist groups remain relatively rare and persistent gaps remain.

The event brought together a wide array of actors to take stock of challenges and best practices in advancing accountability for cultural heritage crimes related to terrorism. Participants included Member States, United Nations entities, law enforcement agencies, members of academia and practitioners working on the preservation of cultural heritage, and civil society representatives

Ambassador Merete Fjeld Brattested, Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations, and Ambassador Nathalie Broadhurst Estival, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, stressed the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation to bring about real progress in advancing criminal justice and underscored the role of the United Nations.

Krista Pikkat, Director of Culture and Emergencies at UNESCO, delivered a keynote speech underlying the central role of UNESCO in this field. She highlighted the importance of the protection of cultural property for the healing of communities and as a tool for resilience, as seen in the initiative 'Revive the Spirit of Mosul".

The event provided an opportunity to discuss the scale and scope of the phenomenon, as well as explore investigative approaches and legal avenues available to prosecute individuals linked to terrorism for the destruction, looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property.

Among the panelists, Dr. Ahmed Aubais Alfatlawi, Professor at the University of Kufa, Iraq, and a member of the National Committee of International Humanitarian Law, Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq, stressed the long-term impact of the destruction of cultural heritage by Daesh on communities, highlighted the challenges of bringing terrorists to justice, and called for stronger international support.

Representatives of the law enforcement sector, Leslie Rodrigues Backschies from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States of America, and Major General Francesco Gargaro from the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Command, Italy, emphasized the importance of international collaboration throughout the investigation phases and fthe restitution of cultural artefacts.

Corinne Muller from the Penn Cultural Heritage Center discussed the role of her organization in developing a methodology, together with the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, to document the destruction of cultural heritage in armed conflict settings and shared good practices on pairing law enforcement with art specialists to support effective investigations.

The event built on the side-event organized jointly by UNESCO and CTED during the 2023 Counter-Terrorism Weektitled "Addressing the linkages between the destruction and illicit trafficking of cultural property and terrorism: scope of the threat and responses to the phenomenon". It highlighted the crucial role of international cooperation, one of the three pillars of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

Watch the event here

Find out more about UNESCO's "Revive the Spirit of Mosul" initiative here