The Regional Workshop of the CIS and Baltic Countries on the Illicit Traffic
in Cultural Property (prevention of the Illicit Import, Export and Tranfer
of Ownership in Cultural Property)

Organized by UNESCO, The Ministry of Culture of The Russian Federation,
ICOM-RUSSIA

Moscow, 17-20 September 2002


We, the representatives of the CIS member states (ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN,
BELARUS, GEORGIA, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGHYZSTAN, MOLDOVA, RUSSIA, TAJIKISTAN,
UKRAINE AND UZBEKISTAN), AND THE BALTIC  STATES (ESTONIA, LATVIA AND
LITHUANIA), Participated in the UNESCO Regional Conference on Illicit
Traffic of Cultural property held September 17-20, 2002 in Moscow.

Concerned with the problem of the illicit import, export and transfer of
ownership of cultural property, and recognizing the need to take specific
measures to combat these scourges/unlawful activities, we recommend to
States in the region to:

        1.      Consider becoming Party to the UNESCO Convention on the
Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer
of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen
or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995) and the UNESCO Convention for
the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 1954 and
its two Protocols (1954/1999);

        2.      Improve relevant national legislation, envisaging the
following:

A.      Bringing it into conformity with international law in order to have
it reflect the importance of clearly asserting ownership over cultural
property;
B.      Reinforcing criminal sanctions against individuals or entities that
deal with cultural property that has been stolen, illicitly exported or is
the product of clandestine archaeological excavation and;
C.      Reinforcing criminal sanctions against individuals or entities
involved in the manufacture and/or marketing of fakes or forgeries of
cultural property.

        3.      Accelerate the introduction of standards of maximum
protection of cultural property, where appropriate in conformity with the
Recommendation of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe 1996 / 6
on Protecting Cultural Heritage Against Unlawful Acts, and accelerate the
establishment and upgrading of relevant archives, inventories and
documentation with photographs and encourage the exchange of information
thereon;

        4.      Disseminate the international standard for identifying
cultural objects, ("Object ID") so that in the event of the theft,
disappearance or illicit trafficking of cultural property the information
could be provided quickly to the relevant investigative authorities;

        5.      Raise awareness of the general public of, and draw the
attention of professionals and decision makers to the importance of cultural
heritage on land or underwater;

        6.      Undertake at the national level to raise public awareness of
the serious problem of the illicit excavation, looting and trafficking of
cultural property, including educational programs and information campaigns
designed for the general public in cooperation with the National Commissions
of UNESCO, other relevant national or international bodies, cultural
institutions, State archives and the private sector as well as the media;

        7.      Elaborate specialized training programs in the sphere of
defense of cultural property for personnel of law and order in co-operation
with experts in the field, in order to enable them to promptly identify and
seize, if appropriate, these objects;

        8.      Promote, especially through diplomatic channels and
inter-State agreements, the restitution of unlawfully/illicitly
expatriated/displaced cultural heritage as well as concrete actions in the
area of illicit traffic control;

        9.      Encourage closer, formal cooperation of representatives of
authorities concerned with the protection of cultural property (for example,
police, Customs Department, antiquities authorities, Ministry of Culture,
Ministry of Justice etc...) with a view to joining their efforts to
effectively fight against the illicit traffic of cultural property;

        10.     Encourage the circulation, as quickly as possible and
confidentially where appropriate, of information concerned with the theft or
illicit traffic of cultural property throughout the region and
internationally through the networks of INTERPOL and, where appropriate,
consider sharing information  with ICOM and other concerned institutions and
specialized companies including auction houses;

WE FURTHER INVITE:

        11.     UNESCO and UNIDROIT to provide information on the UNESCO
1970 and the UNIDROIT 1995 Conventions to the countries of the region not
yet State Party to these Conventions and to take part in the publication in
the Russian language of the commentaries to these Conventions and also to
conduct workshops or meetings with the participation of art historians,
antiquities experts, police and customs officials, law and order officials,
non-governmental organizations and authorities in the region to explain and
clarify these Conventions; and

        12.     UNESCO to assist, within the budgetary resources available
to it, with the creation or improvement of national cultural heritage
legislation, where necessary.


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