Initiatives of the African Union Commission on Heritage Promotion and Contribution to Combatting Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property

PRESENTATION TITLED: “INITIATIVES OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION (AUC) ON HERITAGE PROMOTION AND CONTRIBUTION TO COMBATTING ILLICIT TRAFFICKING IN CULTURAL PROPERTY “BY MRS. ANGELA MARTINS, ACTING DIRECTOR FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE AND SPORT AND HEAD OF CULTURE & SPORT DIVISION ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CULTURAL HERITAGE PROTECTION (CHP) IN CRISIS AREAS

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE STABILITY POLICE UNITS 

27TH – 29TH SEPTEMBER 2023 

VICENZA, ITALY

Protocol to be Confirmed 

1. CoESPU Director, Col. Giuseppe De Magistris 
2. Partners and colleagues in the Arts, Culture and Heritage Sector  
3. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen 

The African Union Commission is delighted and honoured to be part to this High Level Conference on Cultural Heritage.  The protection of Africa’s Cultural Heritage has been a matter of concern to the African Union and it is central to most of its Member States. 

The African continent has lost huge amounts of its heritage resources plundered during colonialism and through ongoing illicit trade and these resources are still held outside. These resources were illicitly acquired and or stolen from individuals, custodians, communities among others. 

The AU main cultural policy tool: The Charter for African Cultural Renaissance in its provision number 26 “calls on African States to end illicit trafficking of African cultural property and ensure the return of all illicitly acquired and or stolen heritage resources to the continent.”One of the objectives of the Charter is to preserve and promote the African cultural heritage through preservation, restoration and rehabilitation.

The process of protection and preservation of heritage goes hand in hand with the processes of restitution. Restitution of African heritage resources including from museums in Europe and North America as a subject of debate can be traced as far back as the colonial period as well as after independence. The question of restitution of these resources has become a major topic of discussion and concern for Africa and Africans to date. Restitution of heritage is required to assist Africa in her ongoing process of redefining her future in line with the aspirations of AU Agenda 2063 as well as in building her cultural identity. 

The African Union, affirms that heritage resources, as part of culture, define people's wellbeing, shared values and aspirations towards economic development and poverty eradication. Despite past initiatives, the rate of restitution of Africa heritage resources has been minimal. Even when and where this has been possible, it has mainly been fraught with resistance and excuses from those holding the illicitly acquired and or stolen heritage resources.

In order to respond to these issues and contribute to the restitution of heritage discourse including its protection, the African Union Commission, as a policy making institution, has developed the following instruments to assist AU Member States in their efforts to protect and/or initiate restitution processes of their unique heritage resources: 

1. The Common African Position (CAP) on Restitution of Heritage Resources (2023) 
2. The Revised AU Plan of Action (PoA) on Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) (2023)
3. The African Union Model Law on the Protection of Cultural Property Heritage (2018) 
4. The Great Museum of Africa (GMA) – A Flagship Project of the AU Agenda 2063

The Common African Position (CAP) on Restitution of Heritage Resources sets out the recommended measures and actions required to effectively address the continuous loss of African heritage resources including human remains. Further, to identify, recover and manage heritage resources that are in, or recovered from, foreign jurisdictions, in a manner that respects the development priorities and sovereignty of Member States. The CAP aligns itself with the spirit of the international normative instruments that guide heritage resources acquisition, protection, restitution and promotion.

The AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) is a guide towards the development and strengthening of the African CCIs in order to facilitate delivery of wider social and economic impact.  The Plan of Action provides a framework that allows for effective coordination of inputs from Member States, strategic partners and stakeholders towards a common goal. 

Recognising the role of the sector in engendering inclusive development, good governance, economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, job creation, trade and regional integration, the PoA articulates the priorities, paths and principles for the development of African cultural and creative industries. One of the guiding principles of the PoA is to safeguard cultural heritage including repatriation and restitution of cultural property of African origin.

The African Union Model Law on the Protection of Cultural Property and Heritage applies to protection and preservation of cultural property and heritage in the Member States of the Africa Union. It supports the process of protection and restitution of Africa’s illicitly acquired and or stolen heritage resources. The objectives of the Model Law are to institute, regulate and strengthen the protection of cultural property and heritage, including those that are yet to be discovered, and to establish State ownership thereof. 

The Great Museum of Africa (GMA) is a dynamic and interactive contemporary museum for the collection, preservation, study and engagement with Africa’s history, tangible and intangible and heritage. The African Union, in partnership with the Government of Algeria through the Great Museum of Africa (GMA) and other Pan-African Museums have structures in place for preserving, promoting and showcasing restituted heritage resources.

The establishment of the Great Museum of African is driven by the recognition of the intricate relationship between the protection of cultural diversity and promotion of cultural pluralism, on the one hand, and development of the continent on the other. It is anchored on the understanding that the protection, preservation and promotion of cultural property and heritage are vital responsibilities jointly shared by the citizens, society and the State. 

The Great Museum of Africa was given the mandate by the Member States to become the continental hub for restituted heritage and to initiate restitution negotiations. The   Temporary Site of the GMA was launched in June 2023 and it is hosted by the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria in Algeria on behalf of the continent.   

Through these initiatives the African Union Commission (AUC) is playing a key and coordinating role in policy development on the African Continent which will go a long way in ensuring that policy frameworks at national level are reviewed and strengthened. 

As a way forward the following initiatives are in the pipeline to popularize and promote our key cultural heritage protection instruments: 

1. High Level Session of Restitution of Heritage Resources and popularization of the Common African Position; 
2. Experts’ Level Workshop on the AU Model Law on the Protection of Cultural Property and Heritage for the Southern African Region; 
3.  Continental Workshop on the Popularization of the Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries; 
4. VI Pan-African Cultural Congress – A forum for creatives to learn and contribute to the policy making role of the African Union Commission. 

Thank you for Listening!