Topic One: Combating Illegal Cultural Artifact Trafficking
Topic One: Combating Illegal Cultural Artifact Trafficking
Background
Cultural artifacts have been protected by UNESCO since the conception of this committee of the United Nations. Everything ranging from historical architectural pieces to artworks from all areas of the world have been preserved and restored by the UN. The issue with this however relies in the fact that many pieces of cultural artifacts have been stolen and sold on the black market. Combating this form of illegal art trafficking remains a primary motive of the UNESCO committee in preserving cultural artifacts.
Illegal cultural artifact trafficking has been an on-going issue for quite some time. The appearance of international artifact trafficking groups has become more and more prevalent in this day and age. Many criminal organizations and terrorist groups plunder ancient ruins and steal ancient artifacts so that they can make profits on the black market by selling these priceless items. A prime example of this can be seen with the workings of ISIS. This terrorist group has plundered many areas in the Middle East and excavated many priceless works and cultural artifacts. From that point on, ISIS has utilized illegal trade and trafficking to bring in millions of dollars of profit from selling these valuable items.
Current Situation
As of now, the UN is not very effective in combating this issue. There still needs to be a lot of work done specifically by the UNESCO committee in dealing with the illegal trafficking of cultural artifacts. A positive on this issue is that UNESCO has sole jurisdiction over matters such as this therefore the committee currently has the power and resources to institute an effective resistance to this form of illegal trafficking.
Cultural Artifact Trafficking remains as an interconnected criminal network in the status-quo and the web is getting even more complex. Little to no action is being taken to intercept lines of criminal trafficking as many individual countries do not have the jurisdiction or power to really combat this issue. Due to this, it is even more important for the UNESCO committee to exercise its already existing power and put a swift end to the rampant pace of cultural artifact trafficking. By working to secure UNESCO heritage sites more securely and being more proactive in mapping out cultural artifact trafficking routes and organizations, the committee can make drastic improvements in the current plan of action to tackle this issue.
Blocs:
The United States:
- Black Market activity is quite apparent within the United States when it comes to artifact trafficking therefore the United States needs to take a proactive stance on this matter
European Bloc:
- Europe’s close proximity to Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia make it a hotbed for vast amounts of cultural artifact trafficking
- Considering the power European nations have within the UNESCO committee, it is vital that the European Bloc organize in a productive and efficient manner to come up with a solution to this issue,
Resources/Links
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ancient-roman-artifacts-repatriated-italy-following-ice-probe