Conference celebrating the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects

UNESCO Culture Sector conference announcement

Today there is a conference in the UNESCO headquarters celebrating the Convention.

"As illicit traffic in cultural property is an enduring and ever increasing phenomenon, the fight against it must be strengthened through appropriate measures.

"The elaboration process of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention was initiated by UNESCO to complement the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property from the point of view of private law.

"The 10th anniversary of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention provides a timely occasion to take stock of the progress in ratification and implementation of both the UNESCO 1970 and UNIDROIT 1995 Conventions over the last ten years, and inform on and discuss in detail the value, distinguishing features, and operational aspects of each of these important instruments. Participants from States already parties to either, or both, Conventions will be reminded about their functioning, while participants from States not yet party will have the possibility to raise queries and obtain relevant information facilitating their ratification."