APPENDIX 48
Memorandum submitted by the World Archaeological
Congress
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 Recommendations
WAC urges the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
on Cultural Property to:
1.1.1 consult with and give due consideration
to representatives of the indigenous constituency at these, and
any future, hearings; (see section 4)
1.1.2 accept that, on occasion, the historical
removal of cultural property may be considered as serious an issue
as contemporary illegal removal/illicit trade. (see section 4)
1.1.3 recommend to the UK Government the
adoption of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting
and Preventing the Illegal Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership
of Cultural Property, and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention
on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Object; (see section
5)
1.1.4 ensure that information on the holdings
of all UK museums and similar institutions should be in the public
domain; (see section 6)
1.1.5 ensure that access to these archives
and, if requested, collections, be available to all genuinely
interested parties; (see section 6)
1.1.6 endorse the recently issued MGC Guidelines
and openly and publicly state that repatriation be considered
as an option when dealing with bone fide requests from
indigenous groups; (see section 6)
1.1.7 consult with and give due consideration
to representatives of the indigenous constituency at these, and
any future, hearings; (see section 6)
1.1.8 recommend to the UK Government that
legislation be enacted to protect underwater heritage in national
waters. (see section 7)
1.2 WAC further requests that the Committee
ask the UK Government to use its influence to encourage other
governments to follow similar courses of action.
1.3 WAC would be keen to offer its expertise
to any group empowered to implement the Committee's findings.
1.4 Further information regarding WAC or
this evidence may be requested from one of those listed in Appendix
5 (not printed).
2. THE WORLD
ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONGRESS
2.1 The World Archaeological Congress (WAC)
is an international non-profit making organisation, whch provides
a forum for debate for anyone who is genuinely interested in or
has a concern for the past. WAC is based on, and campaigns for,
the need to recognise the historical and social role and the political
context of archaeological enquiry and the need to make archaeological
studies relevant to the wider community. WAC was founded when
a world congress of archaeologists, held in Southampton in 1986,
upheld the UN cultural and academic boycott of South Africa. South
Africa was formally admitted to the electoral colleges of WAC
at its third congress in 1994 and the fourth congress of WAC was
held in Cape Town in 1999.
2.2 WAC is unique in its democratic structure
and organisation. Its membership is drawn from all regions of
the world and includes professional archaeologists, anthropologists,
historians, heritage workers, and indigenous peoples. The principle
decision making body of WAC is its Council, elected from all of
the members present at major congresses held every four years.
Four elected officers and an elected Executive carries out the
policy decisions of this Council between congresses. Given WAC
is particularly concerned with the effects of archaeological work
on indigenous people, it has reserved places for eight indigenous
representatives on its Executive. For administrative purposes
WAC has a Central Office at the University of Newcastle, UK run
by an honorary Chief Executive Officer. Further information can
be found athttp://www.wac.uct.ac.za or by application to the Central
Office.
2.3 WAC has particular interest and expertise
in the politics and ethics of enquiry into the past, the protection
of sites and objects of the past, education about the past, the
relationship betwen archaeologists and indigenous people, the
effect of archaeological and other studies on host communities,
and the ownership, conservation and exploitation of archaeological
heritage.
2.4 WAC promotes and develops its interests
through international congresses, Task Group recommendations,
the work practices of its members, sponsorship of workshops and
sessions at other meetings, advice to national and international
agencies and governments as well as in a series of publications
including the prestigious One World Archaeology Series, published
by Routledge, and the World Archaeological Bulletin, back
issues of which are available on the WAC website. These publications
have relevance for areas of public policy on the destruction,
conservation, collection and restitution of cultural property,
drawn from case studies all over the world.
3. INTRODUCTORY
NOTE
3.1 WAC fully recognises that the DCMS Committee
has been set up to specifically review the UK's position regarding
the illicit trade in, and possible return of, cultural property.
The WAC Executive has not had the opportunity to discuss this
particular review and the following evidence is therefore restricted
to informing the Committee of the views of the interested international
community essentially through resolutions and actions already
taken by WAC. Given these considerations, it is, however, clear
that the WAC policy and resolutions cited below have considerable
relevance to the issues being discussed by the Committee. WAC
would be happy to elaborate this evidence orally if the Committee
requested.
3.2 WAC is concerned that the Committee
does not restrict itself to the illicit trade in cultural objects
deemed to be of great rarity or artistic importance. WAC would
like to draw particular attention to the issues of human remains
and underwater cultural heritage as elements of the wider illicit
trade issue.
3.3 This evidence is therefore divided into
four further sections: general WAC statements; Illicit Trade;
Human Remains; and Underwater Cultural Property.
4. WAC STATEMENTS
4.1 WAC has encoded its stance on a number
of issues relating to illicit trade and return of cultural property
in its First Code of Ethics, Vermillion Accord and the
New Delhi Declaration on Forest Peoples. (See Appendices
1-3 (not printed).)
4.2 The First Code of Ethics acknowledges
the obligations of professionals in archaeology and heritage management,
who are members of WAC, to indigenous peoples. This involves the
recognition of the importance of indigenous cultural heritage
(sites, places, objects, artefacts, human remains etc) to indigenous
people and also, that this heritage rightfully belongs to them
as their cultural property. As such, equitable partnerships must
be established between such groups and those who study, curate
and manage this cultural property. All members of WAC agree to
adhere to a set of rules on good practice in their work with host
communities, particularly with regard to dialogue and informed
consent for such work.
4.3 The Vermillion Accord was adopted
in 1989 and affirms that respect must be accorded to the mortal
remains of the dead, irrespective of origin, religion, race, nationality,
custom and tradition. It also affirms respect for the wishes of
both local communities and scientific researchers, to be reached
on the basis of negotiation between all interests and the recognition
that the concerns of indigenous peoples and of scientific practice
are both legitimate.
4.4 The New Delhi Declaration on Forest
Peoples was adopted in 1994 and urges members to treat Amazonian
forest people with respect and to work with them when appropriate.
4.5 In 1999, the Council passed the following
resolution:
In recognition of the International decade of
Indigenous Peoples and the year of the 50th Anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, WAC supports the established
text in Part III, Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the United Nations
Draft Declaration on the rights of Indigenous People. (See Appendix
4 (not printed).)
4.6 WAC's whole raison d'etre links
the past to the present. As such, WAC urges the Committee to accept
that, on occasion, the historical removal of cultural property
may be considered as serious an issue as contemporary illegal
removal/illicit trade and part of a broader set of issues concerning
conflict over, and claims on, cultural property by a range of
interest groups.
RECOMMENDATION
WAC urges this Committee to:
— consult with and give due consideration
to representatives of the indigenous constituency at these, and
any future, hearings; and
— accept that, on occasion, the historical
removal of cultural property may be considered as serious an issue
as contemporary illegal removal/illicit trade.
5. ILLICIT TRADE,
DESTRUCTION AND
PRESERVATION OF
CULTURAL HERITAGE/PROPERTY
5.1 In terms of guidance on current legislation
and guidance for individual institutions and governments regarding
procedure on acquisition and restitution of cultural property,
whether acquired as the result of illicit trade or historically
removed, WAC would like to draw the attention of the Committee
to the following resolutions adopted by Council in January 1999.
5.1.1 Illicit Trade
Believing that the world's cultural heritage
cannot sustain the losses resulting from illicit excavation and
export of archaeological material.
Taking into consideration the resolution passed
by the Pan African Congress of Prehistory and Related Studies
in June 1995 at Harare, Zimbabwe; the resolution adopted by the
UK Standing Conference on Portable Antiquities on 13 November
1997; the resolution adopted at the Annual Meeting of the European
Association of Archaelogists on 26 September 1998 at Gothenburg,
Sweden; resolution Number 4 adopted by the 19th Assembly of ICOM
on 16 October 1998 in Melbourne, Australia; and resolution Number
5 adopted by the participants at the international conference
"Art, Antiquity and the Law: preserving our Global Cultural
Heritage" on 1 November 1998 at Rutgers University in New
Brunswick, New Jersey, USA,
Recognising that international co-operation
is essential for the protection of the world's cultural heritage.
WAC urges all nations that have not already
done so to become party to the relevant international conventions,
including the:
— Hague Convention for the Protection
of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, 1954
— UNESCO Convention on the Means of
Prohibiting and Preventing the Illegal Import, Export and Transfer
of Ownership of Cultural Property, 1970
— UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or
Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, 1995.
5.1.2 Destruction of Cultural Heritage
In view of the current destruction of cultural
heritage sites and materials in areas of conflict such as Somalia,
Democratic Republic of Congo, among others, we the participants
of WAC 4 recommend that WAC in collaboration with other bodies
such as UNESCO send cultural missions to such areas of conflict
with a view to developing accurate reports of such destruction
and bring to the attention of the international community such
destruction with a view to stopping it.
WAC should further take concrete steps and work
with bodies such as ICOM and ICCROM in the fight against the illicit
trade in cultural property and the destruction of archaeological
sites.
RECOMMENDATION
WAC urges this Committee to:
— recommend to the UK Government the
adoption of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting
and Preventing the Illegal Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership
of Cultural Property, and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen
or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects.
6. HUMAN REMAINS
6.1 The issue of access to, and possible
return of, indigenous human remains is fundamental to not only
musuem practice regarding the possible return of so-called "collections"
but also to basic human rights. Since its inception, WAC has supported
many individual cases where access, and/or the repatriation, to
archives and/or collections of indigenous human remains has been
sought. WAC wishes to draw particular attention to volume 6 of
the World Archaeological Bulletin (available via the WAC website)
in which collections of indigenous human remains held in various
museums in the UK are discussed and listed. It should be noted,
in particular, that the full extent of holdings in many institutions
could not be determined. The WAC Executive recently re-affirmed
that:
In accordance with the principles of the Vermillion
Accord and the First Code of Ethics on members obligations to
indigenous peoples, the World Archaeological Congress believes
that all archival information (eg. catalogues, historical records
and related material) about museum collections should be in the
public domain.
6.2 Since the publication of WAB 6, WAC
has been involved with a specific request for access to the archives
of the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London. The museum has
not allowed access to its archives to WAC or indigenous researchers.
Following negotiations the NHM has decided to work on new policy
guidelines which are to be made public. Under these new guidelines
it is intended that all bone fide scholars be allowed access
to the museum's archives. The museum has also appointed a researcher
to document and record their collection of human remains, the
archives of which have, so far, remained incomplete. However,
its is still far from clear whether the museum will allow access
to its archives to indigenous groups and there appears to be significant
ground to cover before the situation can be claimed to have been
resolved.
6.3 WAC has also taken specific action regarding
particular individuals. For example WAC recently adopted the following
resolution concerning the remains of the Khoi-San woman Sarah
Bartmann:
WAC supports the Indigenous peoples of South
Africa in their endeavours to repatriate the remains of Sarah
Bartmann from the Musee d'Homme in Paris, France to South Africa.
6.4 The Council of WAC also passed the following
resolution in 1999:
WAC welcomes the Australian Federal and State
Governments' cultural ministers' decision to recognise indigenous
ownership of ancestral remains and sacred/secret items currently
held in Federal and State institutions, and strongly encourages
both Federal and State governments to ensure that the repatriation
of ancestral remains and sacred/secret items occurs in accordance
with an appropriate time frame and the cultural protocols and
expectations of the relevant indigenous communities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
WAC urges this Committee to:
— ensure that information on the holdings
of all UK museums and similar institutions should be in the public
domain;
— ensure that access to these archives
and, if requested, collections, be available to all genuinely
interested parties; and
— endorse the recently issued MGC Guidelines
and openly and publicly state that repatriation be considered
as an option when dealing with bona fide requests from
indegenous groups.
7. UNDERWATER
CULTURAL HERITAGE
7.1 The following resolution was adopted
by Council in 1999:
WAC expresses deep concern as to the continued
destruction of underwater cultural heritage by unscientific and
non-archaeological activities.
WAC endorses the UNESCO initiative for the protection
and preservation of underwater cultural heritage.
WAC looks forward to the opportunity of discussing
the UNESCO initiative in more detail.
WAC further recommends national governments enact
legislation to protect underwater cultural heritage in national
waters.
WAC recommends that underwater research should
be carried out by suitably qualified and experienced specialist
archaeologists.
RECOMMENDATION
WAC urges this Committee to:
— recommend to the UK Government that
legislation be enacted to protect underwater heritage in national
waters.
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