scholarly journals Why There is Still an Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects and What We Can Do About It

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Neil Brodie ◽  
Morag M. Kersel ◽  
Simon Mackenzie ◽  
Isber Sabrine ◽  
Emiline Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade

Measures against the illicit trade in cultural objects: the emerging strategy in Britain

Antiquity ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (301) ◽  
pp. 699-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gaimster
Keyword(s):  
Hague Convention ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Criminal Offence ◽  
State Party ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Illicit Market ◽  
The World ◽  
Unesco Convention ◽  
The Uk

Until recently the UK was notorious for its illicit market in unlawfully removed art and antiquities from around the globe. Today the UK marketplace is operating in a very different climate. The UK has recently become a state party to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and is now introducing a package of measures designed to strengthen its treaty obligations, central to which is the creation of a new criminal offence of dishonestly dealing in cultural objects unlawfully removed anywhere in the world. These also include the development of effective tools to aid enforcement and due-diligence. Recent events in Iraq have also forced the UK Government to announce its intention to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention.

The Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects

2021 ◽  
pp. 220-235
Author(s):  
Arianna Visconti
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade

Trying to explain why it has taken so long, Arianna Visconti traces the relatively recent evolution of attempts to suppress the trafficking in cultural objects towards criminalization. She sets out how the halting attempts to criminalize in the failed Council of Europe’s Delphi Convention have reached only potential fruition in the latest pure criminal law treaty, the Council of Europe’s 2017 Nicosia Convention, and questions whether criminalization really is the solution.

scholarly journals Crowdsourcing Antiquities Crime Fighting

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Yates
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
General Public ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
Science Methodology ◽  
The Way

In early 2017, Sarah Parcak used her $1 million TED Prize to build the GlobalXplorer° platform (https://www.globalxplorer.org) “to identify and quantify looting and encroachment to sites of archaeological and historical importance,” using a crowdsourced “citizen science” methodology popularized by the Zooniverse web portal. GlobalXplorer° invited the public to search satellite imagery from Peru for evidence of looting within 100 m × 100 m squares, training them along the way and gamifying participation. In this review, I test the platform and consider the applicability of GlobalXplorer° as a vector for changing the way that the general public perceives the global illicit trade in cultural objects.

The Fight Against the Illicit Trade in Asian Cultural Artefacts: Connecting International Agreements, Regional Co-operation, and Domestic Strategies

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan GRUBER
Keyword(s):  
International Agreements ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
International Solidarity ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Historical Sites ◽  
Source Countries ◽  
International Conventions ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

AbstractLooting and illicit trafficking of cultural artefacts pose major threats to Asia's cultural heritage. This not only causes a continuing loss of cultural objects but also the destruction of large numbers of archaeological and historical sites as objects are often looted from tombs or cut off from larger pieces in order to obtain transportable parts for sale on the international art market. In addition, items are stolen from collections and museums or are trafficked in violation of export bans. This article explores the relevant international conventions dealing with the prevention of the illicit export of cultural artefacts and their repatriation, examines how those legal instruments are implemented in Asia and extended in bilateral agreements between market and source countries, and how particularly regional co-operation between Asian nations, international solidarity and assistance, and relevant domestic approaches can assist in improving the situation.

scholarly journals Stolen Heritage Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage in the EU and the MENA Region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arianna Traviglia ◽  
Lucio Milano ◽  
Cristina Tonghini ◽  
Riccardo Giovanelli
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Archaeological Areas ◽  
Artistic Assets ◽  
Illicit Trafficking

It is a well-known fact that organized crime has developed into an international network that, spanning from the simple ‘grave diggers’ up to powerful and wealthy white-collar professionals, makes use of money laundering, fraud and forgery. This criminal chain, ultimately, damages and dissipates our cultural identity and, in some cases, even fosters terrorism or civil unrest through the illicit trafficking of cultural property.The forms of ‘possession’ of Cultural Heritage are often blurred; depending on the national legislation of reference, the ownership and trade of historical and artistic assets of value may be legitimate or not. Criminals have always exploited these ambiguities and managed to place on the Art and Antiquities market items resulting from destruction or looting of museums, monuments and archaeological areas. Thus, over the years, even the most renowned museum institutions have - more or less consciously - hosted in their showcases cultural objects of illicit origin. Looting, thefts, illicit trade, and clandestine exports are phenomena that affect especially those countries rich in historical and artistic assets. That includes Italy, which has seen its cultural heritage plundered over the centuries ending up in public and private collections worldwide.This edited volume features ten papers authored by international experts and professionals actively involved in Cultural Heritage protection. Drawing from the experience of the Conference Stolen Heritage (Venice, December 2019), held in the framework of the NETCHER project, the book focuses on illicit trafficking in Cultural Property under a multidisciplinary perspective.The articles look at this serious issue and at connected crimes delving into a variety of fields. The essays especially expand on European legislation regulating import, export, trade and restitution of cultural objects; conflict antiquities and cultural heritage at risk in the Near and Middle East; looting activities and illicit excavations in Italy; the use of technologies to counter looting practices.The volume closes with two papers specifically dedicated to the thorny ethical issues arising from the publication of unprovenanced archaeological objects, and the relevance of accurate communication and openness about such topics.

Trafficking in Cultural PropertyWhere Cultural Heritage Law and the International Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime Coincide

2020 ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
Janet Blake
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Transnational Organized Crime ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Unesco Convention ◽  
Source Countries

The loss of their cultural treasures through illicit excavation, illegal export, and trafficking and the associated harm to national identity and the rights of their citizens presents a major challenge to many countries around the world. The source countries tend, on the whole, to be poorer developing States while the importing market countries are rich States such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. This chapter first provides a critical analysis of the international cultural heritage law governing this question, in particular the 1970 UNESCO Convention on Illicit Trade in Cultural Property and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on the Return of Stolen and Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. Following this discussion, and as a contrast to the purely cultural heritage-based approach, it focuses on two complementary efforts to combat cultural property trafficking as an international or transnational crime: the 2000 ‘Palermo’ UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the 2017 ‘Nicosia’ Convention on Offences Relating to Cultural Property.

scholarly journals Illicit Cultural Property from Latin America: Looting, Trafficking, and Sale

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Yates
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Sacred Art ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Antiquities Trafficking ◽  
The Church

This chapter will provide a broad overview of the the , smuggling, and illegal sale of cultural objects from Latin America. First, I will describe the two categories of Latin American cultural property covered by this chapter (pre-Conquest artefacts, colonial sacred art), and then consider the form and functioning of the illicit trade in Latin American antiquities. I will discuss the on-the-ground devastation of the historic trade in looted Latin American objects and present a model of a historic antiquities trafficking network. is will be illustrated by two case studies: the the and trafficking of a large Maya sculpture from the site of Machaquilá, Guatemala, and of the Church of Challapampa, Peru. Thee paper will close with a brief recommendation and an outline of the various outside forces that appear to play a significant role in the continued looting and trafficking of Latin American cultural objects. Among these important forces to consider are deforestation, human migration, the narcotics trade, local and regional instability, community insecurity, poverty, globalization, and developmental disparities. If reducing the illicit trade in Latin American cultural property is our goal, then all current and future policy must address these issues.

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