General Assembly Session 54 meeting 72

The President

As the General Assembly begins its consideration of agenda item 24, I wish to say a few words on the subject, for this is an issue on which I have spoken many times over the years and intend to continue doing so.

Members will recall that in my acceptance speech before this body, on 14 September 1999, I stated that the horrors of slavery and destruction wrought upon Africa and its peoples could not be forgotten. Then I emphasized that the time was opportune for reconciliation and healing. I also pointed out that such an act of mutual affirmation would, however, never be complete unless Africa's sacred relics, icons, artworks and other priceless cultural objects were returned lock, stock and barrel to the rightful owners.

Moreover, I expressed Africa's corporate sadness and anguish in seeing that today these stolen African treasures adorn public museums, libraries, art galleries and private homes in foreign lands, and I insisted that they must come home to assuage the pain and anger in the hearts of succeeding generations of Africans. For me, it is a moral problem of heart and soul and of conscience.

What I stated then about the return of priceless African art and icons is equally applicable to the cultural treasures illegally exported from other countries throughout the centuries. It is time to return them home. The lapse of time has not in anyway whatsoever diminished the weight of ownership or the quest for justice and restitution.

The report of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, annexed to document A/54/436, which is before the Assembly this morning, describes the actions taken by the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation. This report is a testimony to the efforts that are being made worldwide for the return of all cultural and artistic treasures. It also cites measures being undertaken to establish a code of ethics for dealers in cultural property, to establish international standards for recording minimal data on movable cultural property, to set up data banks of stolen cultural property in order to assist in the tracing and return of cultural and archaeological objects, and to sensitize civil society, and specifically the young, to protect their environment and cultural heritage.

These are all efforts that I wholeheartedly endorse. We all know only too well that the cultural objects of a people play an integral role in defining their identity, personality and forms of self-expression. It is my intention to help keep this campaign alive and contribute to its success, for the return not only of African cultural objects but also of all other precious treasures illegally removed from their countries of origin. Using the bully pulpit to further justice and the restoration of cultural property is no vice.

We should strive to make the next millennium one of peace, tolerance, fairness and restitution. This means leaving behind this sad history and its consequences.

I now give the floor to the representative of Greece to introduce draft resolution A/54/L.47.

Mr. Gounaris (Greece)

It is an honour for me to take the floor in order to introduce to the plenary Assembly a draft resolution on the return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, submitted for the first time by Greece, under agenda item 24.

Draft resolutions like the one we are presenting today, without reference to a Main Committee, have been before the General Assembly for many years and reflect concerns that are shared by a vast number of Member States of the United Nations.

The return of cultural property to its countries of origin or its restitution in case of illicit appropriation is an issue depicted in the report of the Secretary-General contained in document A/54/436. It is an issue that is methodically promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

I would like to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General and to the Director-General of UNESCO for their efforts and ask that they continue their endeavours. In this context, I would also like to express our appreciation to the 22 member States of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation for their valuable recommendations adopted this year in Paris, under the chairmanship of Canada, during the tenth session of the Committee.

The increasing support and interest expressed on this agenda item by a vast number of Member States, both from the developing and developed worlds, have strong and deep roots. This biannual draft resolution, which is based on the texts of previous resolutions on the same subject, refers to several Conventions, inter alia, Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, adopted at The Hague on 14 May 1954, as well as the Second Protocol to the Convention, just recently opened for signature, also at The Hague, on 26 March 1999.

Last year, the Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, adopted in Rome on 24 June 1995, entered into force, underlining the need for the widening of international cooperation on this issue, the voluntary restitution of cultural property to its countries of origin, the increasing use of international databases and the importance of protecting our underwater cultural heritage and dealing effectively with the looting of shipwrecks.

Given that raising public awareness is essential for combating the illicit trafficking in cultural property, this year's draft resolution introduces, in full compliance with existing working methods of the United Nations, a new element: the electronic transmission of information concerning stolen cultural property and the linking of existing databases and identification systems on this issue.

Greece, being the repository of a cultural heritage that now belongs to all mankind, firmly believes that cultural objects are a treasure to be freely cherished and enjoyed by all nations. However, future generations throughout the world, having recovered from past traumas, need to fully appraise and value their cultural heritage and be given the opportunity to see it exhibited at its own birthplace, as a matter of respect for its origin.

In this context, the continuous cooperation between Member States, the transparency of information and the open exchange of views between parties concerned are all essential elements in addressing and, hopefully, achieving a satisfactory solution to the issue of the return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin.

I hope that this year's draft resolution continues the momentum already shown by the relevant Conventions for the protection of cultural property.

On behalf of my Government, I would like to thank those Member States that, as of today, have sponsored the draft resolution contained in document A/54/L.47, and to extend our sincerest appreciation for their support. In fact, I have just been informed that the following countries will also sponsor the draft resolution: Algeria, Peru, China and the Marshall Islands.

I hope that consultations on the text of the draft resolution, which are still under way among the delegations concerned, will successfully conclude with a consensus text, to be adopted in the coming days by the plenary General Assembly.