PRESS CONFERENCE ON TRADE OF IRAQI CULTURAL OBJECTS

A meeting of 30 international archaeological experts has urgently recommended that a ban be placed on the trade of all cultural objects from Iraq, Mounir Bouchenaki, Assistant Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today.

The expert meeting, convened today in Paris by UNESCO, also recommended that Iraqi cultural institutions be immediately secured and further looting prevented, said Mr. Bouchenaki, speaking by a videoconference from UNESCO’s Paris headquarters.  Further, a mission of experts in museology, archaeology, historical monuments, and library archives should be sent to evaluate damages and prepare a plan of action to rehabilitate the cultural heritage of Iraq.

He noted that the archaeological experts came from such nations as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Japan, and Iraq, and had all worked in archaeological missions in Iraq.  The meeting had been set up to examine Iraqi cultural heritage, which had been threatened by looting in museums and cultural institutions in Baghdad, Mosul and Tikrit.

Asked whether it was too late to prevent the looting of Iraqi cultural objects, Mr. Bouchenaki observed that all artifacts had not been taken.  The Director of the National Archaeological Museum of Baghdad and the Director of Archaeological Research had told UNESCO that help was badly needed to secure what was left.

“I don’t think we should just sit here, do nothing and wait until there is further looting”, he added.  “The international community should be sensitised.”  UNESCO’s Director-General planned to request the Secretary-General of the United Nations to hold an urgent Security Council meeting on illicit traffic in Iraqi cultural objects, and try to recuperate what had been looted through international action.

UNESCO officials had corresponded with Mr. Annan and the Council before and during the Iraqi war to tell them cultural damage could occur, evoking the

1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Case of Armed Conflict.  “Despite that, we witnessed looting and burning last week, and now it is the duty of the international community to mobilize the technical, human and financial resources to recuperate as much as we can.”

In response to a question on how many Iraqi museums and libraries had been damaged, Mr. Bouchenaki said information was fragmentary and mostly received from press communiqués and television clips.  The Tikrit museum had been bombed and the museums of Mosul and Baghdad had been looted, but no information had been received on regional museums.

Questioned whether Iraqi museums were now being guarded, he said the military had been instructed to guard the museum in Baghdad, which he hoped had occurred.  A letter had been sent to United States Secretary of State Colin

Powell, and yesterday UNESCO had met with a special envoy from the United States State Department, who said guarding Iraq’s cultural heritage had been placed on the agenda.

Responding to another question, he said most of the looted artefacts from Baghdad were cuneiform tablets, sculptures, pottery, glass and coins.  Evoking the 1970 Convention on the Illegal Traffic of Cultural Property, UNESCO was working with the International Police Association (INTERPOL) to recover the items, while the International Council of Museums would be preparing a “red list” of objects in a search for artifacts that had found their way to auctions or art dealers.

UNESCO had asked the cultural ministers of neighbouring countries to tighten up their borders in an attempt to halt the export of Iraqi cultural property, he added.  For its part, the United States had already banned trade within its borders of cultural objects from Iraq.

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