US embassy cable - 05PARIS5140

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