Advancing a Criminal Justice Approach to Cultural Racketeering
November 5, 2024
AC Convenes Global Experts at the 12th UNTOC Conference of the Parties
In the last 50 years, the UN has taken great strides to address the looting and trafficking of cultural property, from the Security Council, to the General Assembly, to offices and agencies including UNODC and UNESCO. However, organized crime in the cultural sector goes far beyond illicit trade.
To effectively broaden the global approach to cultural crimes, the AC was proud to co-host a side event on the margins of the 12th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, titled Beyond Looting and Trafficking: Recommendations for Combating Crimes Facilitated by the Art Market. In collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Governments of Italy, Mexico, and the United States, the event the reintroduced this critical issue to the meeting’s agenda for the first time in over 10 years, marking it as the only side event dedicated to cultural racketeering.
In her opening remarks, Executive Director Tess Davis emphasized the value of the topic’s inclusion: “UNODC has a valuable role to play, as does its groundbreaking instruments, especially the Conventions against Corruption and that against Transnational Organized Crime. These treaties, two of the most adhered to in the world, could be valuable tools in the fight against criminal misuse of the art market. UNTOC, specifically, can further the criminalization of relevant offenses, create frameworks for international cooperation, and strengthen training, assistance, and prevention.”
Criminals will and have gravitated to cultural property and the art market, where there are many opportunities, gaps, and loopholes to exploit in order to to commit a wide range of offenses from trafficking, to fraud, forgery, tax evasion, money laundering, and sanctions violations. In many jurisdictions, the sector is not yet subject to the standard legal protections and oversight covering similar high-risk, high-value industries. Art is frequently referred to as the largest unregulated market in the world, which, as these examples show, leave it vulnerable to bad actors. In addition, these crimes are often viewed as white-collar or victimless. Therefore, despite the work of law enforcement, there are few prosecutions for these serious crimes that threaten our shared heritage, national economies, and global security, meaning those engaged in these crimes see seizures, forfeitures, and repatriations as just the cost of doing business.
Speakers including Mr. Murat Yildiz (Trafficking in Cultural Property Lead of the Global Programme on Criminal Network Disruption for Border Management Branch at UNODC), First Chief Warrant Officer Monica Satta (Cultural Heritage Protection Carabinieri Command), Counsellor Diego Alonso Simancas Gutierrez (Deputy Representative of Mexico to the UNODC and the Wassenaar Arrangement), and Dr. Greg Borgstede (Division Chief in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office of Western Hemisphere Programs) addressed these issues head on, providing a number of concrete recommendations for member states, the public, and the international community.
- At the national level, there is a great need to study, harmonize, and update domestic laws, while providing much-needed training to legislative drafters, attorneys, and judges. Member states should also consider criminalizing cultural crimes as “serious offenses” under the UNTOC, if they have not done so already.
- Successes in recovering objects are often due to interagency and international cooperation, which can be better facilitated by IGOs and the UNTOC.
- Approaches by member states to this issue can and should model approaches to other types of crime, such as drug, weapon, or wildlife trafficking – this can also make solutions more comprehensive and cost-effective.
UNODC reinforced the importance of the UNTOC framework for achieving these goals: “The UNTOC framework is essential for tackling trafficking in cultural property and related crimes across borders. UNODC is committed to supporting Member States by enhancing the capacity of criminal justice practitioners—through technical assistance in prevention, detection, prosecution, and adjudication—to strengthen cross-border cooperation in the fight against trafficking and illicit trade.”
Crimes that involve cultural property or works of art are crimes, first and foremost. The AC thanks Italy, Mexico, the United States, and UNODC for sharing their expertise and experience, a strong sign that an increasing number of governments of the world recognize the need for action at the top to bar criminals from the $70 billion global art market.The AC remains committed to promoting innovate solutions for combating looting and enhancing the protection of cultural heritage across the globe.