On December 6, at its Plenary Meeting, the 76th UN General Assembly adopted by consensus the Resolution on Return or Restitution of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin spearheaded by Greece. This Resolution is a purely Greek initiative and is submitted by our country every three years.
It is noted that this year the Resolution was co-sponsored by 111 out of the 193 UN Member States. This is the highest number of states, among which a significant number of African countries, that have ever co-sponsored this Resolution compared to the past. Resolutions of UN General Assembly initiated by only one country are rarely adopted by such a large number of co-sponsors. This was another major diplomatic success for Greece, following the recent adoption by consensus of the Resolution on the “Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity” by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
This latest success of our country is part of its relentless efforts at the international level to protect cultural property in particular, but also of cultural heritage in general, against illicit trafficking in both peacetime and wartime. In addition, it highlights the need to return or restitute stolen and illegally possessed cultural property to their historical surroundings.
