Conference. Human rights implications of the illicit trafficking of cultural property: legal challenges and grassroots approaches

The illicit trafficking of cultural property affects all countries with a rich archaeological heritage, with a particularly severe impact in conflict and post-conflict contexts. The recent intensification of the international response, led by UNESCO, has been characterized by strengthened awareness-raising efforts regarding the repercussions of illicit trafficking for cultural rights, as well as by calls to promote evidence-based research and the implementation of legal frameworks and public policies that guarantee the right of peoples and communities to their identity and cultural heritage.

In line with the priorities of the global cultural policy agenda, this contribution examines the multiple harms that the looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property inflict on the exercise of various civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals and communities in countries of origin. It also analyzes the original, human rights-based approach developed by countries of origin to address the phenomenon of illicit trafficking and presents new empirical perspectives derived from the views of Iraqi archaeology students on the looting of cultural heritage that has affected their country over the past three decades.

Finally, alternative response strategies from the perspective of international law are examined, highlighting the need to strengthen the protection of cultural heritage through a human rights-based approach to looting and the illicit trafficking of cultural property. This must be accompanied by grassroots participatory approaches that promote the effective involvement of local communities in decision-making processes.