Raising Awareness of National Legal Frameworks for Cultural Property Protection in East Africa
April 8, 2026
On April 1, the Antiquities Coalition and the American Society of International Law (ASIL) hosted a webinar that convened experts from the Federal Republic of Somalia, Sudan, Mozambique, and Uganda to discuss current efforts to combat cultural racketeering in the region.
The dialogue built on the first installment of the webinar series focusing on the fight against illicit antiquities trafficking in East Africa, with Transparency Advocacy, a Uganda-based organization combating organized crime and corruption. The panelists demonstrated the overall necessity for greater legal capacity-building across the region, highlighting country-specific challenges and stressing that while international and regional frameworks can be valuable, they do not always translate into effective national implementation or fully accommodate local community needs.
Panelists included: H.E. Abdirahman Abshir, Director of the Legal and Treaties Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC); Ali Nour, Cultural Heritage Emergency Response & Grants Management Specialist; Filipe Alage, Consultant for Cultural Heritage Protection; and Frederik Nsibambi, Deputy Executive Director at the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU). Together, they introduced East Africa’s national and regional legal frameworks regarding cultural property protection while emphasizing the importance of collective action against the illicit trade in East African archaeological and ethnographic materials.
On behalf of Somalia, H.E. Abdirahman Abshir spoke about the importance of expanding and improving inventory projects, establishing clear ownership frameworks, and strengthening international cooperation in heritage protection.
Despite the remarkable protection efforts of heritage professionals in Sudan, Ali Nour raised concerns about Sudan’s fragmented legal landscape and operational failures. Nour emphasized the urgency of ratifying international cultural property treaties, noting that waiting until conflict arises to ratify is ineffective and harmful.
Mozambique’s Filipe Alage expanded on H.E. Abdirahman Abshir’s commentary on the challenges of limited inventories and spoke on recent updates to Mozambique’s national law, which have given customs and heritage officials the authority to inspect and seize objects lacking proper provenance documentation.
Deputy Executive Director of Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda, Frederik Nsibambi conveyed the importance of locally-tailored policy, given Uganda’s highly diverse cultural landscape. Nsibambi emphasized research and documentation as the strongest forms of emergency preparedness.
Steps Forward
- Expanding national cultural property inventories and databases.
- Ratifying international conventions to close operational gaps: Many countries in the region have not yet ratified the 1954 Hague Convention (Second Protocol, 1999), the 1970 Convention, and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention. In Uganda, efforts to implement the 1970 UNESCO Convention are underway.
- Strengthening international cooperation amongst governments and law enforcement to advance the fight against illicit cultural property trafficking.
The Antiquities Coalition commends the active leadership of the panelists and thanks the American Society of International Law for co-sponsoring this webinar on raising awareness.
A recording of the webinar is available online, here.
Want to learn more? Read Cultural Racketeering in East Africa: Local Leaders Call for Global Solidarity and Action.