ILAB invited to attend UNESCO workshop on the Revision of the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property

Representatives of the ILAB Committee and the ILAB Executive Secretary have confirmed their attendance at the proposed workshop in Paris in June by UNESCO to represent the international rare book trade and express rare booksellers' views on the pending revision of the International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property.
The revised code will have a significant influence on the legislation on cultural protection in all UN member states and it is therefore important to adequately represent the trade in antiquarian books before UNESCO. ILAB will update its membership following the Paris meeting on 14th of June 2024.

Statement from UNESCO:

UNESCO values the importance of implicating professionals of the art market in the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property and considers that they have an essential role to play in promoting the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (thereafter, “the 1970 Convention”) mainly through the reinforcement of acquisition policies and ethical standards. In this spirit, UNESCO, urged by the United Nations General Assembly and the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration , strives to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with the art market by regularly inviting dealers in cultural property and their professional associations to take part in its various initiatives – conferences, roundtables and workshops – aimed at improving professional practices in areas such as provenance investigations, due diligence exercises, and return or restitution procedures.

UNESCO has also developed practical tools to support the art market in the fight against this scourge, such as the 1999 International Code of Ethics for Dealers in Cultural Property - a non-binding instrument based on voluntary compliance which promotes the development of standards for art dealers at the international level. UNESCO is currently working with the art market on the revision of the Code in order to strengthen its principles, specifically with regard to due diligence standards for provenance investigations.