Jacques Perot, the President of ICOM, attended the Expert Meeting on Iraqi
Cultural  Heritage held at UNESCO on 17 April 2003.

The meeting agreed on the following recommendations to those responsible for
civil order in Iraq:


"1) That all museums, libraries, archives, monuments and sites in Iraq be
guarded and secured immediately by the forces in place

2) That an immediate prohibition be placed on the export of all antiques,
antiquities, works of art, books and archives from Iraq

3) That an immediate ban be placed on the international trade in objects of
Iraqi cultural heritage

4) That a call be made for the voluntary and immediate return of cultural
objects stolen or illicitly exported from Iraq

5) That there be an immediate fact-finding mission under UNESCO coordination
to assess the extent of damage and loss to cultural property in Iraq

6) That there be the facilitation of international efforts in assisting
cultural institutions in Iraq."

Jacques Perot strongly advised that the fact-finding mission that will be
organised in the very near future should be international and
multidisciplinary.

As stated in the message of 16 April, the ICOM Secretariat is at present
compiling a list of the existing documentation - databases, Web sites,
exhibition catalogues - on Iraqi museum collections. This list will be
available as soon as  possible on the ICOM Web site.
In order to collect as much information as possible, Jacques Perot asks ICOM
members to forward to the ICOM Secretariat the bibliographical references of
all documentation available in their country on Iraqi collections. Please
send this information to Email: [log in to unmask]

We would like to thank you for all the initiatives undertaken and all your
efforts to preserve the Iraqi cultural heritage.



Valérie Jullien
Communications Officer

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