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UNESCO strengthens cooperation in Central America on the return and restitution of cultural property
Bringing together ten Central American countries, the event provided a platform for sharing recent good practices and reflecting on ways to foster stronger cooperation in this field.
An inclusive framework for dialogue
The event underlined the importance of inter-state collaboration, but also the fundamental role of museums and the academic world in developing innovative agreements on return and restitution.
The dialogue brought together cultural heritage protection experts and representatives from ten Central American countries: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.
All Central American countries, a crossroads of history and diversity, have ratified
the 1970 Convention, demonstrating their collective commitment to protecting cultural property from illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership.
The event highlighted the importance of provenance research and coordinated efforts between law enforcement, ministries of culture, the museum sector, and academia to identify and return cultural property to its country of origin.
A dedicated session focused on the return of cultural property to Indigenous Peoples, emphasizing the need to place communities at the heart of restitution processes. Throughout the discussions, the term "rematriation" was frequently used in place of "repatriation" to reflect this approach.
A repatriated object is not just an artifact that returns. It is a story that begins to tell its truth again.
The central role of museums was also emphasized, showcasing cross-border cooperation initiatives and capacity-building efforts in provenance research. Discussions further stressed the importance of museum development at archaeological sites, fostering greater community involvement in heritage preservation.
Several cases of recently completed restitutions presented during the dialogue highlighted the importance of collective action between concerned States, including public awareness initiatives and knowledge-sharing.
The dialogue demonstrated that the return of objects is above all a catalyst for potential. Discussions on return and restitution support ambitious cultural and scientific cooperation projects, particularly in the field of museology, while also enriching broader debates on the protection and promotion of cultural property.
The Antigua Guatemala subregional dialogue is part of a series of events organized by UNESCO to promote innovative and recent solutions for the return and restitution of cultural property. This work began in June 2023 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, where the first dedicated exchange on new forms of agreements was held.
These dialogues align with the , adopted by Heads of State in September 2024 during the United Nations General Assembly, which encourages States to integrate culture into public policies and to strengthen international cooperation on the return and restitution of cultural property. These discussions will also feed into preparations for UNESCO鈥檚 Global Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development 鈥 MONDIACULT 2025, to be held in Barcelona, Spain, from 29 September to 1 October 2025.
