Article
UNESCO calls for the protection of cultural heritage
UNESCO strongly condemns the robbery on 5 June 2022 of more than 80 pre-Columbian items of cultural property at the Museo Andino in the Buin area of Chili, which constitutes an attack on the country’s cultural heritage and history of American cultures. Given that these objects are made of gold, the press and museum networks have called on criminals not to melt down the cultural property.
“With the theft of cultural property, what we lose are centuries of history and invaluable heritage. Every time such property is stolen or damaged, present and future generations lose the possibility of enriching our society with our past, with our common history,” said Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture.
UNESCO calls upon professionals and the public involved in the trade of cultural property to intensify their vigilance and refrain from acquiring or taking part in the import, export or transfer of ownership of these items of cultural property, pursuant to the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), ratified by Chile in 2014.
