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A PLEA FOR THE RESTITUTION OF AN IRREPLACEABL CULTURAL HERITAGE TO THOSE WHO CREATED IT
An appeal by Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, former Director-General of UNESCO, 1978.
“The men and women of these countries have the right to recover these cultural assets which are part of their being.
They know, of course, that art is for the world and are aware of the fact that this art, which tells the story of their past and shows what they really are, does not speak to them alone. They are happy that men and women elsewhere can study and admire the work of their ancestors. They also realize that certain works of art have for too long played too intimate a part in the history of the country to which they were taken for the symbols linking them with that country to be denied, and for the roots they have put down to be severed.
These men and women who have been deprived of their cultural heritage therefore ask for the return of at least the art treasures which best represent their culture, which they feel are the most vital and whose absence causes them the greatest anguish.
The return of cultural assets to their countries of origin nevertheless continues to pose particular problems which cannot be solved simply by negociated agreements and spontaneous acts. It therefore seemed necessary to approach these problems for their own sake, examining both the principle underlying them and all their various aspects.”
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An appeal by Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, former Director-General of UNESCO, 1978.
“The men and women of these countries have the right to recover these cultural assets which are part of their being.
They know, of course, that art is for the world and are aware of the fact that this art, which tells the story of their past and shows what they really are, does not speak to them alone. They are happy that men and women elsewhere can study and admire the work of their ancestors. They also realize that certain works of art have for too long played too intimate a part in the history of the country to which they were taken for the symbols linking them with that country to be denied, and for the roots they have put down to be severed.
These men and women who have been deprived of their cultural heritage therefore ask for the return of at least the art treasures which best represent their culture, which they feel are the most vital and whose absence causes them the greatest anguish.
The return of cultural assets to their countries of origin nevertheless continues to pose particular problems which cannot be solved simply by negociated agreements and spontaneous acts. It therefore seemed necessary to approach these problems for their own sake, examining both the principle underlying them and all their various aspects.”
Sold out