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Two UNESCO workshops train some 70 professionals from 23 African countries to fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property
From December 5 to 16, 2022, two were organized by UNESCO for some seventy participants - law enforcement, customs officers, museum professionals - from 23 countries in these two sub-regions.
In Nairobi (Kenya) and Libreville (Gabon), these workshops provided, through a combination of theoretical and practical sessions, the tools and means for professionals from these regions to be better prepared to face the various threats that may weigh on cultural property from national collections and prevent illicit trafficking.
, these activities were an opportunity to recall the importance of ratifying and implementing the 1970 Convention, inventorying national collections, protecting heritage in emergency situations, and using existing national and international normative instruments in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property.
This activity is fully in line with the program of support to the African continent, in connection with the Organization's Global Priority Africa and in the spirit of the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration, adopted by 150 States to strengthen the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property. You can count on UNESCO's determination and commitment to deploy at your side the potential of our mandate and to accompany you in the fight against the illicit traffic of cultural property in Africa
These workshops, conceived as spaces for dialogue and exchange for professionals, aim to promote existing good practices at the national level, and to reflect on ways to strengthen cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property at the regional level.
ICOM, INTERPOL, UNODC, UNIDROIT - UNESCO's key partners - brought their expertise to train on the essentials concepts and tools to fight this scourge.
In Nairobi, Ms. Peninah Malonza, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage of Kenya, announced her country's upcoming ratification of the 1970 Convention.
Kenya recognizes the critical importance of being party to the 1970 Convention. That is why at the initiative of my Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya, coordinating with international organizations like UNESCO, has submitted to the National Assembly of Kenya in May 2022 a Memorandum on the accession of Kenya to the 1970 Convention and its ratification
In parallel to the workshop for Central Africa held in Libreville, the Gabonese authorities organized a two-day ministerial sequence, bringing together seven Ministers of Heritage, Culture and Arts from the region, to share national best practices, discuss the importance of a concerted regional response to the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, and promote museums and their role. In this regard, the States unanimously adopted the Libreville Declaration to initiate a new common dynamic in this area.
In Libreville, Professor Patrick Mouguiama Daouda, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, Technology Transfer, Culture and the Arts, recalled the commitment of the Gabonese authorities in the fight against illicit trafficking and for the protection of cultural property, and invited the States of the region to join this collective commitment to the safeguarding and preservation of Central Africa's cultural heritage.
Sweden supported the organization of these two workshops, as well as Gabon supported the Central African workshop.
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