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UNESCO meeting gathers all African Member States for the first time to discuss return and restitution of cultural property
The event, “New Types of Cooperation and Agreements in the Field of the Return and Restitution of Cultural Property to Africa,” marked a significant step in UNESCO’s ongoing efforts to support Member States by providing a space for dialogue, facilitating knowledge sharing, and promoting innovative solutions for the return and restitution of cultural property.
The conference was held in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union Commission at the Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event was spurred by the historic MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration, which called for open and inclusive international dialogue on the return of cultural property.
Through this landmark meeting, we pay tribute to the richness and diversity of Africa's cultural heritage. The issue of return and restitution goes well beyond the notion of the objects themselves and encompasses questions around identity, memory, and history. UNESCO continues to accompany Member States across Africa and beyond in these efforts, as an ethical imperative to realize cultural rights for all.
Opening remarks were delivered by the State Minister of Tourism of Ethiopia, H.E. Sileshi Girma, as well as representatives of the African Union Commission, including Ms. Angela Martins, the Head of Culture. Ms. Catherine De Preux De Baets from the East Africa Regional Office of OHCHR delivered a statement, along with Mr. Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Director of the Institute of African Studies and Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, who underlined the significance of the question of restitution for Africa.
These objects [...] have been displaced and torn from the African continent, condemned to exile and silence. But they have not been silenced. In my opinion, their mission is to create links.
High-level roundtables explored the role of museums and joint research programs, as well as the latest developments in the field of return and restitution. Experts from across the continent, along with select international specialists, provided critical insights on enhancing institutional collaboration and decision-making processes. Examples of effective partnerships and evolving forms of international cooperation were introduced.
Several recently-resolved cases of return and restitution to Africa were presented, serving as models for future efforts. Among the examples presented were the long-term cooperation between Namibia and Germany which led to the restitution of several artefacts; the return of the “green sarcophagus” to Egypt from the United States; the return of artefacts to Ghana and Kenya from the United States; and the return of a sculpture to Libya from Switzerland.
Restitution should be done in collaboration with the affected communities, working with the elders and youth for artistic knowledge.
We can only go further in the field of return and restitution if we are able to listen.
The importance of establishing an enabling legal and policy environment, including the ratification of the UNESCO1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, came up throughout the conference. Participants also explored diverse subjects including: the need to equip museum professionals in the field of return and restitution, the role of the art market, the increasing risk of online trafficking, as well as the value of inclusive restitution processes, notably communities and the diaspora.
The UNESCO meeting recalled that the strength lies in approaching the return and restitution in a holistic manner across Africa. Progress needs to be made on bilateral cooperation but also in the areas of museum development, training, and research. Restitution is not an end but the beginning of a reappropriation of collective memory and a reconciliation with a long despoiled past, allowing young Africans to reconnect with an essential part of their history, culture and identity.
“Cooperation and mutual respect can be the catalyst for return and restitution of cultural property,” said Ottone R., “Numerous testimonies we heard today, in the emblematic Africa Hall, showed that the collegial professional relations and rigorous research by all parties can overcome obstacles, be it political, legal, or diplomatic.”
The meeting will feed the upcoming UNESCO global cultural-policy conference MONDIACULT 2025 (29 September - 1 October 2025), during which return and restitution of cultural property will be extensively discussed. The gathering in Addis Ababa also echoed the African Union’s 2025 theme, Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations, as well as UNESCO’s Global Priority Africa, in particular its Flagship Programme “Fostering cultural heritage and capacity development”.
- New types of cooperation and agreements in the field of the return and restitution of cultural property to Africa
- UNESCO Round Table "New forms of agreement and cooperation in the field of return and restitution of cultural property" UNESCO Headquarters, 27 June 2023
- UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
- UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP)
