The 缅北禁地on Wednesday revealed the existence of an illicit trafficking scam in African cultural artefacts, which are being sold to unsuspecting buyers, thanks to the entirely fake UNESCO stamp they come with.
The 缅北禁地Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is warning art lovers who may be approached to buy African cultural treasures, apparently endorsed by the agency, to exercise the 鈥渦tmost vigilance鈥� after receiving numerous reports of the trafficking ruse.
The organization said that false documents claimed that had authorized the transactions, and certified the monetary value of collections, which is not true.
It said that most victims of the fraud live in France and many have links to French-speaking African countries.
Million-Euro scam
More than one million euros鈥� worth of goods have been pilfered to date, UNESCO said, while Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, described cultural theft as a 鈥渓ucrative global scourge鈥� that was 鈥渋n most cases connected to other forms of organized crime, including terrorism鈥�.听
It is 50 years since an international Convention was adopted to combat the illicit traffic in cultural property.
Although African cultural heritage has long been the victim of looting and destruction, the Middle East has become a recent target in connection with conflict in Iraq and Syria.听
The illicit trade is also growing on the internet, where tracing origins and intermediaries is difficult, UNESCO warned.
UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture, Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, noted that 鈥渋llicit trafficking in cultural property is a worldwide, lucrative scourge linked to other forms of organized crime, including the financing of terrorism.听
鈥淣ot only is it rife in Africa, whose cultural heritage has long been the victim of looting and destruction, but it has exploded more recently in the Middle East in connection with the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.鈥�
Efforts to end trafficking
UNESCO added that over the past five years, it had helped several dozen countries to incorporate into their national laws the provisions for the prevention of illicit trafficking in cultural property contained in the 1970 Convention, and encouraged the restitution of objects illegally removed from their territory.
The Paris-based agency has organized more than 80 training and capacity-building sessions for State representatives and their relevant ministries, police and customs services 鈥� as well as museum professionals - in partnership with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the World Customs Organization, 听and others including the International Council of Museums (ICOM).听
The Organization provides States with essential knowledge on legal standards, reference data on trafficking, a database of national laws, as well as practical tools.听
UNESCO does not ever issue certificates or authorizations for the commercialization of cultural property.听
