Addis Ababa, January 30 - UNESCO reaffirmed its commitment to the restitution of African cultural heritage, emphasizing that the return of looted and displaced artifacts is a matter of cultural rights, historical justice, and identity, highlighted today by the Ethiopian News Agency.
At a high-level roundtable held the previous day, the Director of the Liaison Office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Rita Bissoonauth, said the organization is intensifying its advocacy for these returns in partnership with local and international stakeholders.
Bissoonauth stressed that the time has come to advance these efforts with renewed determination.
“Restitution is not simply a material transfer. It is above all the restoration of a legitimate right for peoples to reclaim the evidence of their history,” she said, adding that the objects carry their spirituality and the records of their collective consciousness.
She explained that this process represents a pillar of restorative justice, as articulated in international law, and reaffirmed in the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, UNESCO conventions, and Latin American normative frameworks.
“To restitute is to restore to African communities and the diaspora the ability to represent themselves through their own narratives, symbols, and material expressions,” she noted. She added that it is also about recognizing the social injustice committed against peoples.
For her part, the Moroccan Ambassador to Ethiopia, Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi, stated that the roundtable made a significant contribution to ongoing efforts aimed at the restitution of looted African cultural heritage.
Ahmed Mohamed, Executive Director of the Cultural Sector at the local Ministry of Culture and Sports, affirmed that the attention given to restitution and cultural rights is of utmost importance for Africa and remains very timely.
“As we all recognize, culture is identity, history, and shared humanity. The government of Ethiopia places strong emphasis on culture and tourism as pillars of economic development,” he remarked.
The roundtable, organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Embassy of Morocco in Addis Ababa and the International Organization of La Francophonie, convened under the theme “Restitution, cultural rights and the right to memory: from Africa to Latin America.”
The forum brought together experts, academics, government officials, international organizations, and representatives of civil society.
It was revealed that more than 90 percent of ancient African cultural objects remain outside the continent, denying communities access to tangible evidence of their own history.
