§ Lord Fearnasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps are being taken by the Home Office to curtail the illicit trading in British works of art to other countries. [HL6111]
§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton:Action to curtail illicit trading in works of art to other countries is primarily the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The Home Office is considering with DCMS the feasibility of implementing a national database of unlawfully obtained cultural property, as recommended by the House of Commons Select Committee in a report entitled Cultural Property: Return and Illicit Trade published in July 2000.
The Government have also recently expressed their commitment to introducing a new criminal offence of "dishonestly importing. dealing or being in possession of any cultural object, knowing or believing that the object was stolen, or illegally excavated, or removed from any monument or wreck contrary to local law".
The United Kingdom formally accedes to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property on 31 October 2002. The convention enables countries which are parties to the convention to claim back stolen antiquities which surface in the countries of fellow signatories.