UNESCO Coordinates International Response to Middle East Antiquities Crisis

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova

At last, the crisis of looting and damage to archaeological sites and museums in those Middle East nations that have been roiled by uprisings may receive some concerted international attention.

While international experts in cultural-property issues were meeting in at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris over the last two days (belatedly commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1970 UNESCO Convention against illicit trafficking of cultural property), the United Nations agency also convened an emergency meeting of cultural-property organizations and experts to address the pressing need for cultural heritage protection in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova stated:

To start with, expert missions will travel to Egypt and Tunisia in the
coming days to make contact with the newly appointed personnel of the
ministries of culture, assess the need for assistance, especially in the
area of prevention of illicit trafficking, and to devise a
comprehensive UNESCO Action Plan on the medium and long-term protection
of cultural heritage.