The Culture and Communication Sector of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the Conference on UNESCO 1970 Convention on Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property: Prospects and Challenges, held in Doha, State of Qatar.

Dr. Osama Al Nahas, heritage expert, represented the Sector at the Conference, held on May 31, 2022, via videoconference. He delivered a presentation where he reviewed ICESCO’s efforts in safeguarding heritage in the Islamic world and fighting illicit trafficking of cultural property, noting the fast spread of this crime.

He explained that illicit trafficking is not only a violation of human heritage and people’s identity but also a source of financing terrorist operations across the world, commending ICESCO’s efforts in this field, through the establishment of a special unit for legal assistance for the benefit of the Member States to recover their looted heritage and cultural property.

He added that ICESCO has established an artificial intelligence unit as part of the components of the Islamic World Heritage Center to protect heritage sites and museums, as well as account for what has been looted and smuggled. He also referred to ICESCO’s organization of a conference in July 2020 on developing mechanisms to fight illicit trafficking in cultural property, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

At the end of his presentation, he noted that ICESCO is preparing to hold an international conference, to develop more effective mechanisms to fight this crime, by enacting rigorous laws to confront the phenomenon of illicit trafficking of cultural property as well as strengthening and implementing relevant international agreements.