Workshop: Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage

The Minister of Culture, H.E. Mr. Raymond Araygi and the Ambassador of Italy, H.E. Mr. Massimo Marotti, opened a technical workshop on the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties, an initiative organized by the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, and co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with the Project “Capacity building for customs and border management” and by the European Union with the ARCHEOMEDSITES Project.

The workshop took place at the Italian Embassy in Beirut, in the presence of the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and of the Directorate General of Antiquities, the Italian Development Cooperation, UNESCO officials, representatives of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Finance, and with the participation of a representative of the Italian Carabinieri – Cultural Heritage Protection Unit.

The initiative of holding this workshop emerges from the increasingly urgent needs to properly respond to the destruction of the cultural heritage and illicit traffic operations that are dramatically affecting the region and jeopardizing the cultural monuments and sites of this area. In this framework, the workshop aims at exposing the different legal and administrative procedures related to illicit trafficking in Lebanon applied by the diverse authorities involved in this challenging fight, in order to pinpoint the advantages and disadvantages of the current system.

While focusing on the Lebanese context, the participation of the Carabinieri to this one day workshop allowed the sharing of the Italian experience in the field of illicit trafficking and discussing the new and enhanced models for managing and controlling illicit trafficking operations in Lebanon and in the region.

The Minister of Culture H.E. Mr. Raymond Araygi expressed his concern vis-à-vis the negative effects of the systematic eradication of human civilizations in the region in favor of illicit trafficking operations through international mafia networks. Minister Araygi called for better coordination among national and international institutions to protect the human cultural heritage. In this context, Araygi wished that the participants discuss in details all the adopted measures to fight illicit trafficking in cultural properties and those whose application can be improved in accordance with the laws in force to reduce such operations in and across Lebanon.

The Italian Ambassador, H. E. Mr. Massimo Marotti reminded in his speech the pillaging or complete destructions of world heritage sites in Syria and Iraq, the cultural patrimony of all mankind. “The workshop enhances a sound collaboration between Lebanon and Italy. The cooperation between Lebanese institutions and the Italian Carabinieri represents a significant step forward in the fight to protect cultural heritage in the Mediterranean region”.