Barran Press
Yemen has signed an international treaty aimed at recovering looted and illegally exported cultural artifacts, according to a report by the archaeology-focused website Artnet News. The treaty, the UNIDROIT Convention, was signed on behalf of the internationally recognized Yemeni government by Yemen’s UNESCO ambassador, Mohammed Jumaih, on October 17th, 2024, and will enter into force for Yemen on April 1st, 2025.
The UNIDROIT Convention, which addresses weaknesses in UNESCO's 1970 Convention against illicit trafficking in cultural property, encourages buyers to exercise due diligence when acquiring cultural artifacts. Yemen's ratification follows its June 2024 approval of the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which took effect on September 5th.
Ambassador Jumaih stated that Yemen will receive legal support to recover cultural artifacts illegally removed from the country. The treaty will provide mechanisms to protect, claim, and repatriate stolen or illegally exported cultural items.
Yemen's unstable political climate, exacerbated by a devastating civil war, has made its archaeological sites vulnerable to looting. Widespread corruption, fuel price hikes, food insecurity, and a weakened economy have further contributed to the problem, leaving pre-Islamic artifacts and ancient cities easy targets for looters and unscrupulous art traffickers. Many local cultural institutions lack the resources to protect heritage sites from organized theft fueling the international black market.
This signing comes after several recent repatriation efforts. The United States returned 77 Yemeni artifacts in February 2024, and a two-year partnership with the Smithsonian Institution was established for the preservation and documentation of artifacts dating back to the first millennium BC. The Victoria and Albert Museum also signed a similar agreement in September 2024 concerning four ancient funerary stones, and 14 sculptures were repatriated from a private collection in New Zealand for long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.