Cablegate: Unesco: Gaps in Unesco Data Base of Cultural

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 005140

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

E.O. 2958: N/A
TAGS: SCUL CJAN SOCI AF UNESCO
SUBJECT: UNESCO: GAPS IN UNESCO DATA BASE OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE NATIONAL LAWS MAY IMPEDE RETURN OF CULTURAL
ARTIFACTS

Ref: Paris 4621 (Notal)

1. Summary. As reported ref, quick resolution of questions
about the law of the country of origin ("source country") of
a particular artifact can be of critical importance in legal
processes concerning the recovery and return of the item.
Easy reference to these laws would also encourage self-
policing by museums, dealers and collectors. UNESCO's Data
Base of Cultural Heritage National Laws is designed to meet
these needs, but countries in all regions have not yet
replied to UNESCO's requests for submission of national
laws. The U.S. supports UNESCO's request and is in the
process of providing the requested information. End
summary.

2. Potential purchasers are required to exercise "due
diligence" to determine an object's legal status, which
requires access to the cultural heritage laws of the source
country. In addition, legal questions are often key in the
recovery and return of looted or stolen cultural artifacts
to the country of origin. For example:

--Border authorities, confronted by an item that raises
questions, need a quick and reliable reference tool to
determine whether that item requires an export permit.
--Court proceedings can turn on a determination of whether
the source country law defines illegally excavated items as
Currently, however, it can be difficult to ascertain the
law.

3. The UNESCO cultural heritage national law database,
maintained by UNESCO's culture section, is intended to fill
this need. The UNESCO national laws data base can be found
at: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=23464&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201. html

4. The USG will support the database through a Department
of State ECA-administered grant that will finance the
translation into English of laws concerning moveable
cultural artifacts. (Note. ECA is acting under a
Congressional directive in the Senate Report/FY05 Omnibus
Appropriations Legislation to "Initiate an international
database of the laws of other nations that deal with
cultural antiquities." End note.)

5. UNESCO has asked each Member State to provide the below
information for the data base:

--The relevant legislation in an electronic format,
compatible with a search feature. (Scanned documents, in
ADOBE format, are not readily usable.)
--Any updates to the legislation.
--An official translation of the legislation into one of
UNESCO's six official languages, preferably English or
French.
--Copies of the format of any import and export certificates
for cultural property.
--Contact information, regularly updated, for the
authorities responsible for administering the law
--Explicit permission for UNESCO to include the material in
its database.

6. The State Department's ECA office is in the process of
submitting U.S. cultural heritage legislation information.
Many of UNESCO's 191 member countries have not yet
responded, however, to repeated requests for submission of
information in electronic format. (See listing of countries
whose law is included in the database in paragraph 9.)

7. In a 12 July conversation, UNESCO official Rochelle Roca-
Hachem, the AmCit UNESCO employee with working level
responsibility for maintaining the database, said that
UNESCO would welcome any information, as long as it was in
readily usable electronic format. Scanned documents were
not usable, she said. Partial submissions and unofficial
English translations are useful.

8. Roca-Hachem noted that virtually no African countries
had responded to the DG's original request for information.
She reported that she had unearthed a scholar's compilation
on CD Rom of African legislation on smuggling of cultural
artifacts and had written to all countries whose law was
included asking if the law was current. To date, she has
received affirmative responses from only three -- Kenya,
Zambia and Uganda - and will post their laws on the database
by the end of July. (Note. The UNESCO database currently
has a link to the laws compiled by the scholar, but it notes
that the compilation is unofficial. End note.)

9. The countries whose law is listed on the database thus
far are:

Europe:
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Monaco, Montenegro,
Sweden

Latin America and Caribbean:
Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela

Arab States:
Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria

Asia and Pacific:
Australia, India Philippines, South Korea
10. Comment. The USG-financed, ECA-administered support
for the UNESCO Cultural Heritage National Laws Database
showcases the possibilities for constructive UNESCO/USG
cooperation in cultural preservation matters. End comment.

Oliver

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