26 SADC law enforcement officers trained to combat illicit trafficking of cultural property

26 police officers from the SADC Member countries were trained to prevent Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property during a training workshop organised by UNESCO in collaboration with Interpol Regional Bureau for Southern Africa. Held virtually from20 - 21 July 2021, the training was facilitated by several renowned experts from UNESCO, UNIDROIT and the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

Better coordination at both the national and international levels between law enforcement agencies and cultural practitioners was identified as important as this facilitates sharing of information on criminal networks suspected of being involved in illicit trafficking of stolen cultural items. In their remarks, both the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa Officer in Charge, Dr. Martiale Zebaze Kana and Interpol Regional Bureau of Southern Africa Coordinator, Mr Nawa Mubita emphasized the importance of cooperation and partnership to combat crimes against cultural property.

UNESCO alone cannot assist countries to implement the important conventions and their related programmes. Seeking synergies and establishing partnerships and collaboration with like-minded organisations is key. The cooperation between the UNESCO Regional Office (ROSA), SARPCCO and INTERPOL have been a positive move as the adopted SOPs strengthen the capacity of law enforcement to prevent and fight against illicit trafficking of the works of Art.

Martiale Zebaze Kana, Officer-in-Charge, UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa

Mr Nawa Mubita highlighted that art crimes are under-reported and under-detected due to lack of awareness by police officers in the region, hence the need for the training.

The training provided the police officers an opportunity to learn about the current context of illicit trafficking of cultural property in the Africa region, and strengthen synergies for the protection of cultural property in the Southern Africa region.

The training also tracked the progress in the operationalisation of the Standard Operating Procedures on the Works of Art (SOPs) that were adopted by SADC Chiefs of Police at their Annual General Meeting held from 3-6 June 2019 in Lusaka, Zambia. The adoption of the SOPs laid a strong basis for the follow up in terms of creating where they do not exist yet (and strengthening where they exist), specialized police units at national level. Currently, only 2 Specialised Units for Works of Arts, Culture and Heritage exist in Southern Africa, the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police Criminal Investigation Department. The units are exclusively dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage and to investigate cases of trafficking of cultural property.

In line with the training objectives, the participants and facilitators recommended the following:

1. Enhance Inter-agency cooperation at National, Regional and International level for an effective and coordinated approach in the fight against illicit trade in Works of Art and Cultural Heritage in the Southern Africa region.
2. Urge Member States to continue and improve their usage of operational tools dedicated to the fight against illicit trafficking in Works of Art and Cultural Heritage, in particular UNESCO Data Base of National Cultural Heritage Laws, INTERPOL Policing Capabilities including ID ART, and ICOM Red lists.
3. Consider the need to conduct robust outreach programs/awareness campaigns in order to minimize the illicit trafficking in Works of Art and Cultural Heritage.
4. Enhance capacity building and training to Law Enforcement Agencies in illicit trafficking in Works of Art and Cultural Heritage.
5. Ensure the establishment of points of contacts in Member States, in particular between Law Enforcement Agencies, Museum and Cultural Heritage Professionals.
6. Urge Member States to utilize the Standard Operating Procedures and to report annually by 15 March every year.
7. Consider the enhancement or establishment of National Police Specialized Units with National Data Bases in Member States.
8. Urge Member States which are not yet parties to ratify and implement the 1970 UNESCO and 1995 UNIDROIT Conventions.

UNESCO's work on the protection of cultural heritage and UNIDROIT's work to facilitate the return of stolen or illegally exported cultural property support the achievement of SDG 16, and in particular target 4, which addresses the recovery and return of stolen assets and combatting all forms of organized crime. Such work also supports SDG 4 target 7 on the importance of education to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to fight illicit traffic (importance of the UNIDROIT Convention Academic Project - UCAP). UNESCO and UNIDROIT's instruments also support the African Union vision adopted by African Heads of States, and in particular Aspiration 5 'An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, shared values and ethics', with a clear objective that African 'culture, heritage and artefacts will be fully repatriated and safeguarded'.