The UN’s New Five-Year Agenda for Cultural Property Crime
October 2, 2026
The Abu Dhabi Declaration commits countries to disrupt trafficking networks, prosecute offenders, and strengthen international cooperation.
The fight against cultural property crime achieved an important milestone at the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Abu Dhabi.
The UN Crime Congress only convenes every five years, bringing governments, law enforcement, international organizations, and civil society together to shape the global crime prevention and criminal justice agenda. This year, cultural property crime was a priority.
The Antiquities Coalition joined UNODC, UNESCO, Europol, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, and Lebanon on September 30, 2026 for a dedicated discussion on combating the trafficking and exploitation of cultural property. Bringing together NGO, IGO, law enforcement, and Member State perspectives, the session underscored the need for sustained international cooperation.
Critically, the Congress adopted the Abu Dhabi Declaration, which includes a dedicated commitment to cultural property crime in:
“Countries pledge to disrupt trafficking networks; address the links between cultural property crime, organized crime, and terrorist financing; prosecute those involved; and strengthen mutual legal assistance, extradition, and restitution to countries of origin.”
The mandate has never been clearer. The next five years provide an opportunity to turn multilateral commitment into global results by disrupting the networks behind cultural property trafficking, following the money, strengthening investigations and prosecutions, and improving cross-border cooperation.
The Antiquities Coalition is grateful to our co-sponsors and partners and looks forward to working with Member States and international partners to advance the commitments made in Abu Dhabi.
Read the Abu Dhabi Declaration, here.
Learn more about UNODC’s work to combat trafficking in cultural property, here.