The closing years of the twentieth century and the early years of twenty-first century witnessed remarkable developments in the international attempts to protect the world's cultural heritage. For instance, in 1999 the Second Protocol to the Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted. In 2001, the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage was adopted whilst 2003 witnessed the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The United Nations declared 2002, as the UN Year for Cultural Heritage and appointed UNESCO as its Cultural Agent. There is no gainsaying that the UNESCO was faithfully committed to this mandate and discharged its responsibilities satisfactorily. However, the acknowledgment of the fact that lack of information and inadequate appreciation of the UNESCO Conventions on the protection of cultural property remained a formidable obstacle to the realisation of the aspiration of the UN and UNESCO informed the 2003 Abuja Workshop convened primarily to promote the UNESCO Conventions protecting Cultural Property. What follows is report on the 2003 Abuja Workshop.

Participants were drawn from 10 African countries, south of the Sahara. These are Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the host country, Nigeria. Seven resource persons led discussions at the Workshop. They were Dr. Guido Cadducci, Chief International Standards Section, Division of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO, Professor Folarin Shyllon and Mr. John Oluwole A. Akintayo, both of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, Mr. Karl Heinz Kind of INTERPOL, and Dr. Joseph Eborieme, Representative of ICOM.

The Workshop was declared open by Mrs. M. Y. Katagum, the Secretary-General, Nigeria's National Commission for UNESCO on November 3, 2003. The first working session which followed immediately after examined the protection of cultural property at national level. Professor Shyllon spoke on the legal protection of cultural heritage in the Region from a comparative perspective. In this presentation, he highlighted the late development of cultural heritage legislation in most Sub-Saharan African countries and the attempts made through legislation, in most cases after independence, to cover lost ground. A trend, which has become noticeable in the 1990s, is the inclusion of provisions for the protection of cultural heritage in constitutional texts. Though lack of specificity is a feature of these omnibus constitutional provisions, they are nonetheless a welcome development as they are likely to provide the impetus for further legislative actions. The national reports received from all the participating countries revealed that the incidence of theft, looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property, though widespread, is not experienced on the same scale. For instance, the reports from Senegal and Uganda indicate very small numbers of cases of loss of cultural property. The national reports highlight factors like widespread ignorance on the significance of cultural property among all strata of the citizenry and law enforcement agents; weak and ineffective legislation; inadequate security; and a poor inventory system. Solutions proffered revolved round better legislation, raising awareness of citizens and law enforcement agents on the need for protection of cultural heritage; the need for improved documentation by cultural resource managers and the need for cooperation and networking among regional and international organisations engaged in protection of cultural property.

The second session of the first day of the workshop dealt with protection of Cultural Property at the international level. The first part of this session focused on the role of UNESCO in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural property. Dr. Cadducci who led the discussion on the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or illegally exported Cultural Objects underscored the need to ratify the relevant international conventions to enable African countries to benefit from the protection afforded by them. Dr. Cadducci and Mr. Akintayo led discussions on the 1954 Hague Conventions and its Protocols. Mr. Akintayo speaking from the African perspective noted that the continent of Africa has been plagued and ravaged by civil wars more than international armed conflicts, but these have nevertheless had their adverse impacts on cultural property in Africa. Other UNESCO Conventions like the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage and newly adopted 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage were briefly touched upon.

The second day of the workshop focused on practical measures against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property. Dr Eborieme delivered a paper on “International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the fight against illicit traffic in Cultural Property in Africa.” He highlighted the specific roles of ICOM in the areas of promotion of professional ethics; strengthening security in protection of collections; publications, workshops and mobilization of international networks of professionals. He noted that the activities of ICOM as well as other concerned organisations have prompted African states to react sharply against illegal dealings in cultural property. Mr. Kind's presentation on the role of INTERPOL and its database was quite informative. Dr. Caducci's presentation dealt with how the problem of poor inventory systems could be tackled using the Object ID.

African countries have repeatedly made calls for return of their appropriated cultural property. To this end Dr. Cadduci's discussion on the role of UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation proved quite illuminating. Prof. Shyllon used as a Case Study the Nigerian Nok Culture Sculptures, which were unlawfully exported and then loaned to France by Nigeria for 25 years. The case is illustrative of the need for leaders of African countries and their cultural resource managers to take informed decisions while making negotiations on matters of cultural property.

The last day of the Workshop concentrated mainly on the preparation and eventual adoption of the Workshop Recommendations. The Recommendations in recognition of the urgent need to strengthen the protection of cultural property and to take specific measures to combat this illicit trafficking, inter alia urged African Member States of UNESCO to become Parties without delay to the UNESCO Conventions on the protection of cultural heritage and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention (complementary to the 1970 UNESCO Convention), if they have not yet done so; review, improve and/or strengthen where appropriate, their national legislation in the field of the protection of cultural heritage; set up immediately comprehensive inventories, using the Object ID international standard in appropriate cases; provide adequate funds for the implementation of the Workshop's Recommendations and consider culture as one of their priorities, as a component of suitable development, to be integrated into national planning.