§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they have taken during the past two months to prevent or deter the export or international trade in antiquities looted in Iraq. [HL2649]
§ The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone):The UK is a signatory to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the Government are supporting a Private Member's Bill which will strengthen UK law in respect of preventing illicit trade in antiquities. In addition, we have secured the assistance of the UK art trade in locating and identifying material looted from Iraq and are working with international bodies to establish a database of stolen items. We are also contributing to the International Council of Museums' Red List of the most common categories of objects that may have been stolen or looted in Iraq. We have also alerted Customs to the need to enforce the current embargo on any imports from Iraq.