Press release, 

STOP the LOOTING of AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS

The ICOM Red List -  http://www.icom.org/redlist/

Eight categories of African archaeological objects are under
particularly serious threat from looting today. These figure on
the ICOM Red List, which aims to inform museums, art dealers, and
police and customs officials about the systematic theft to which
certain types of cultural property fall victim.

These artefacts are amongst the cultural property that is the
worst affected by looting and theft. They are protected by
legislation, banned from export, and may under no circumstances
be put on sale. An appeal is therefore being made to museums,
auction houses and collectors to stop buying them.

Illicit archaeological excavations in Africa irreparably
undermine the historical sources of the continent and those of
humankind as a whole. The objects looted in Africa are resold in
Europe and in North America. The historical context of the places
in which the objects were found is thus wiped out and can never
be reconstituted. As a result we will never be able to learn
about the civilisations that produced these artworks.

Today, thanks to financial support from the Prince Claus Fund for
Culture and Development and the French Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, a detailed dossier has been put together containing
information about the African objects on the Red List. (A web
version is now available at http://www.icom.org/redlist/)

A tool for providing information and a means of verification, the
dossier gives details on each category, including where the
objects come from, their physical features, and the national and
international legislation protecting them. A section called The
Urgency of the Situation highlights the fact that this type of
artwork should no longer be bought so as not to encourage
looting.

The dossier was drawn up by African, European and North American
museum professionals during a workshop in Amsterdam on the
Protection of the African Heritage organised by ICOM in October
1997.

The file will be widely distributed to art dealers, auction
houses and museums in Africa, Europe and North America as well as
to police and customs officials. This awareness-raising campaign
on African archaeological heritage fits in with the active policy
that ICOM has been applying for several years to combat the theft
of cultural property.

In this context, the recent agreements that ICOM has signed
successively with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and
INTERPOL involving police and customs officials in the fight
against the illicit traffic in cultural property mark a new step
forward in heritage protection. The fact that international
organisations responsible for controlling the situation are aware
of the vast extent of the traffic should mean that museums have
new resources at their disposal to curb the scourge.

The Red List contains objects that are in particularly grave
danger, but it is not exhaustive. Every time an archaeological
object is put on sale the question of the legality of its export
arises.

Information:	Valérie Jullien, ICOM Secretariat (http://www.icom.org)
Tel. 33 (0)1 47.34.05.00 / 33 (0)1 45.68.28.36 	
Fax. 33 (0)1 43.06.78.62
Email <[log in to unmask]>

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