The Unesco Courier (2020_4): 50 Years of the Fight Against the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Goods

In spring 2020, the health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic brought the whole world to a standstill. But the illicit trafficking of cultural property has not stopped. On the contrary. Traffickers of cultural goods have taken advantage of reduced security at archaeological sites and museums to engage in illegal excavations and thefts, with impunity.

The figures prove it: the attraction for mosaics, funerary urns, sculptures, statuettes, or ancient manuscripts has never been greater. The pressure of this demand has helped fuel the illegal market in artworks and antiquities, which now operates largely online – via platforms that often pay scant attention to the original provenance of the objects.

• The UNESCO Courier, the flagship UNESCO magazine since 1948 is a platform for the dialogue between cultures and a forum for international debate.
• Bringing together well-known personalities, experts and artists, as well as journalists from different cultural and geographical horizons, it reflects the intellectual role of UNESCO, and its work around the world in all its domains of competence.

52 pages, 210 x 297 mm (paperback)