Unesco denounces the fraudulent use of its logo in the trafficking of African works of art

Audio 05:47

By: Houda Ibrahim Follow

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) this week denounced a new form of scam concerning African works of art. It uses the name and logo of Unesco to convince of the authenticity of the works sold. A fraud that has lasted for two years and which has killed twenty people, mostly French who have links with Africa. The fraudsters pocketed more than a million euros. Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director General for Organizational Culture, answers questions from RFI.

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RFI: What impact does the fraudulent use of the Unesco name and logo have on you for selling African cultural goods?

Ernesto Ottone: Well, indeed, this fraudulent use gives the impression that these are legal transactions authorized by Unesco, which is completely false. Everyone knows that to use the name or logo of Unesco, you must first obtain an authorization and ensure that this request is guaranteed by the government authorities of each country, so Unesco does not issue certificate to guarantee sales, this is why we are denouncing these recent scams, among others, because in reality Unesco has no relation to what is being done on its markets for some time - and specifically in the case of goods of African culture - but it also happens in other regions.

The traffic of African works of art is growing strongly on the internet, it uses social networks a lot. Did the networks promote this traffic in your opinion?

We had a webinar last Friday with world experts and in particular with the organizations that work with us on this subject: Interpol, customs, and other authorities who see this subject in the value chain where this traffic takes place and indeed during this Covid-19 pandemic. We observed an increase in these sales since they could not be done physically through Internet networks, so effectively we see an increase in the use of Internet and networks but at the same time we also see an increase in awareness on the part of the greatest in relation to this illicit traffic.

Do you recognize today that it is more difficult than before to combat this phenomenon when the volume of traffic is constantly increasing, what role could Unesco play in the face of the amplification of this phenomenon?

Indeed this year we commemorate the 50 years of the fight against the illicit traffic in cultural property which has a convention at Unesco, the Unesco convention of 1970 and which rightly deals with these subjects, we see that in these 50 years it there has of course been significant progress since at the moment out of the 193 countries which join UNESCO, there are 140 which have ratified this convention, which clearly demonstrates the will of several countries to work together to eradicate this phenomenon . However, our actions must be strengthened, especially on cooperation with countries and the various organizations which today could or should control these sales channels. In parallel we will launch in September a public awareness campaign, so that they pay attention before acquiring these cultural objects, since you will understand of course that there is someone who sells them, and also someone who buys them, so we have to do the work on both ends of the chain.

So the illicit trafficking of cultural property is often associated with other cross-border crimes and contributes to the financing of terrorism as was the case in the Middle East, in Syria and in Iraq, is this also the case in Africa?

This has been the case in Mali since in the north of the country there has been an occupation of extremist armed groups which continues in certain areas where archaeological sites have been looted in the Gao region, for example where the ancient manuscripts stolen from the Timbuktu region and we are convinced that these lootings were part of the funding of the activities of these groups which occupy this part of northern Mali among others, but which demonstrated and that Interpol has the figures that during the great crisis in the Middle East no doubt it must be the third means of financing terrorist groups.

The African art trade is very popular in Europe but it is partly based on the illegal traffic you mentioned, how to fight today against this traffic, is not the looting of African cultural objects part of the face dark relations between African countries and many European countries?

It must nevertheless be said that it is important to make a distinction between the questions of return and restitution which today are under discussion of African cultural property, but the questions of illicit traffic for commercial purposes as we observe it. for 50 years, since the convention has been different. With regard to the debate on the return of the heritage of African culture, we have at Unesco an inter-governmental committee which offers its good offices of mediation between countries when we are asked, that is one of the mechanisms.

But to fight against the illicit traffic of cultural goods in Africa, it would already be necessary that all the African countries ratify the convention of 1970, because inter alia there are 17 approximately which still did not do it and therefore remain very exposed to this phenomenon. Stealing an object of art through illicit traffic is not only obtaining cultural property from another country, it is really stealing part of the identity of the memory of this country.

So it is not that you are affecting in particular a museum or an archaeological site or a particular house where this object would have been stolen, it is that you are despising, stealing part of the identity of memory of a community, of a nation or of a region and that is what we want to avoid because remember that Unesco is still responsible for keeping peace in the minds of men and women and of course when there is an unlawful act, it is not in the line of maintaining world peace.

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