Fighting the Illicit Trafficking of Documentary Cultural Heritage
The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property provides an international framework for the prevention of theft and looting, as well as the return and restitution of stolen cultural property.
The common understanding of cultural property trafficking tends to focus primarily on theft of art and antiquities.
So where do libraries fit in?
The following resources can help outline the unique challenges of fighting the illicit trafficking and theft of library collections.
- Guide: Combatting Illicit Trafficking of Documentary Cultural Heritage [pdf]
- Slides: Theft and Trafficking of Documentary Heritage: Key considerations and challenges [Slides]
The Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Centre hosted at Qatar National Library launched the Himaya project to combat theft and trafficking of documentary heritage in the MENA region and beyond. Keep up to date with the PAC Qatar Himaya Project.
Following IFLA’s Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee and its Rare Books and Special Collections Section for more information on further work on trafficking.