In link with its role as part of the UN group of expert on illicit traffic, and wishing to further contribute to the advancement of the fight against illicit traffic, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has launched a long-term and innovative instrument: the International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods. We are happy to inform you that the European Union Programme Prevention of and Fight against Crime (ISEC) of the DG Home Affairs has provided funding for a three-year project, which is in its preliminary stage and will be officially launched at the forthcoming ICOM General Conference in Rio.
In response to the absence of centralised statistics and the lack of available valid information on illicit traffic in cultural goods, this Observatory is an ambitious international programme dedicated to monitoring and reporting on the rising trend which the smuggling and illicit trading of cultural assets has become. One of the aims of the Observatory is to provide a comprehensive database of resources to experts and non-professionals:
- Organisations and institutions involved (international organisations, NGOs, state administrations, law enforcement agencies, academics and private organisations)
- National and international legal and ethical instruments
- Practical tools, programmes and good practices
- News, case studies, publications, videos, information Websites and blogs
- Glossary and information sheets on the main good practices
The project will be developed and managed by ICOM over the course of three years, starting with an information Website, and leading to the publication of a Global Report on illicit traffic, the first of its kind.
These innovative tools will represent a great contribution for the dissemination and enhancement of both knowledge and practices in the field, thus fostering public awareness-raising, as well as professional international and cross-sectorial cooperation.
In order to involve ICOM’s network as much as possible in the project, we wanted to gather information about National Committees' role and potential activities in the area of the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods. Therefore, you will find enclosed a short information form that will help us provide the most accurate information on the Observatory’s Website.
We are currently busy working on the first version of the web platform and in order to receive as much contents and information we have sent a similar information form to more than 500 identified organisations and institutions worldwide in the field of the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods.
For the duration of the project we will have to conduct several foreign missions to countries which are either specialized in fighting the traffic or particularly exposed to thefts and smuggling. The National Committees of these countries will be contacted again, in due time, prior to each field mission in order to consult them about possible contact persons and other related pertinent information in their country.
In case that your National Committee also is involved in the fight against illicit traffic we would be glad to include a Webpage describing its work, as well as technical sheets for your respective resources, standards and/or tools.
The presentation page should include your logo, main public references (Website, contact person, address etc.), as well as a short description of your action(s) that help combat illicit traffic in cultural goods in your country/region. Obviously we are only going to publish those contents for which you will give us permission.
For the International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods
France Desmarais
Susanne Pöverlein
Raphaël Roig
ICOM - International Council of Museums
22, rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris - France
Tél. +33 1 47 34 91 65
Fax +33 1 43 06 78 62