Convention on Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property (1970)
- Drafted: 14 November 1970
- Entry into force: 9 May 1972
- UK Status: The UK ratified this Convention on 1 August 2002, however it has not ratified the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (see below).
In addition to a vigorous lawful market, an international illicit trade of cultural property is steadily growing, fuelled by a rising demand for antiquities and artefacts. This practise robs archaeological sites, religious and cultural institutions, museums and public and private collections of these precious items.
Nearly forty years after it was first introduced, the UNESCO Convention for Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property (1970) remains key to stopping the theft, looting and illicit trade of cultural property. The Convention requires states to take action in three main fields:
- Preventive measures: This includes measures such as inventories (from museums and other cultural institutions), export certificates, monitoring of trade, the imposition of penal or administrative sanctions, educational campaigns, etc.
- Restitution provisions: States are to take appropriate steps to recover and return any cultural property imported after the entry into force of this Convention provided that the requesting State pay just compensation to an innocent purchaser or to a person who has valid title to that property.
- International co-operation framework: The idea of strengthening cooperation among and between States is present throughout the Convention.
The UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects complements the 1970 UNESCO Convention. This is an international agreement regarding the return of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects to their country of origin.
Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property (1970)