27 November 1981

Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 3026 A (XXVII) of 18 December 1972, 3148 (XXVIII) of 14 December 1973, 3187 (XXVIII) of 18 December 1973, 3391 (XXX) of 19 November 1975, 31/40 of 30 November 1976, 32/18 of 11 November 1977, 33/50 of 14 December 1978, 34/64 of 29 November 1979 and 35/127 and 35/128 of 11 December 1980,

Recalling also the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted on 14 November 1970 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its sixteenth session,

Emphasizing that the cultural heritage of a people shapes, in the present and the future, its artistic values and its development as a whole,

Taking note with satisfaction of the report submitted by the Secretary-General in co-operation with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,

Aware of the importance attached by the countries of origin to the return of cultural property which is of fundamental spiritual and cultural value to them so that they may constitute collections representative of their cultural heritage,

Noting with satisfaction that the countries of origin have already enhanced the steps they have taken for the organization and maintenance of their museums, in order to accommodate their cultural treasures, and for the classification, restoration and conservation of their objets d'art with national experts of international repute,

Noting also with satisfaction that some countries have taken positive steps for the return or restitution of museum pieces, archives, and objets d'art to their countries of origin,

Deeply concerned at the persistence of the illicit traffic in cultural property, which continues to impoverish the cultural heritage of all peoples,

1. Renews its support for the solemn appeal launched on 7 June 1978 by the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the return to those who created it of an irreplaceable cultural heritage;

2. Reaffirms that the restitution to a country of its objets d'art, monuments, museum pieces, archives, manuscripts, documents and any other cultural or artistic treasures contributes to the strengthening of international co-operation and to the preservation and further development of universal cultural values through fruitful co-operation between developed and developing countries;

3. Commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation on the work they have accomplished, particularly through the promotion of bilateral negotiations, for the return or restitution of cultural property, the preparation of inventories of movable cultural property, the development of infrastructures for the protection of movable cultural property, the reduction of illicit traffic in cultural property and the dissemination of information to the public;

4. Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to intensify its efforts to help the countries concerned to find suitable solutions to the problems relating to the return or restitution of cultural property and urges Member States to co-operate with that organization in this area;

5. Invites Member States to take adequate measures to prohibit and prevent the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property, and to put an end to the illicit trafficking in priceless objets d'art and museum pieces by all necessary measures within each country's jurisdiction with the full co-operation of courts and customs authorities;

6. Also invites Member States to draw up, in co-operation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, systematic inventories of cultural property existing in their territories and of their cultural property abroad;

7. Appeals to museums and public and private collectors to return totally or partially, or make available to the countries of origin, particularly the items kept in the store-houses of such museums and help the countries of origin, with the co-operation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in their endeavours to formulate an inventory of these collections;

8. Reminds Member States of the need to strengthen museum infrastructures, in particular conservation techniques, museographic facilities and procedures adapted to local conditions and the training of qualified personnel;

9. Calls upon the United Nations Development Programme to continue to assist the development of national capacity in respect of museum infrastructures and invites Member States, national agencies and regional organizations to strengthen their bilateral technical co-operation in this area;

10. Appeals to Member States to co-operate closely with the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation and to conclude bilateral agreements for this purpose;

11. Further appeals to Member States to encourage the mass information media and educational and cultural institutions to strive to arouse a greater and more general awareness with regard to the return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin;

12. Urges all Governments to reproduce reports and studies made by archaeologists and explorers from the developed world, especially if those studies are out of print, and to make them available to the countries of origin;

13. Renews its invitation to Member States to sign and ratify the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 14 November 1970;

14. Requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to take the necessary measures to alert and mobilize international public opinion in favour of the return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, in particular by mobilizing the United Nations information media for this purpose;

15. Further requests the Secretary-General, in co-operation with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session a report on the implementation of the

present resolution;

16. Reiterates the desire that the second World Conference on Cultural Policies, to be held in 1982, will devote considerable attention to the question of return or restitution of cultural property with a view to improving international cultural co-operation;

17. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its thirty-eighth session the item entitled "Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin".