International mechanisms for recovering stolen Iraqi antiquities

Section: RESEARCH
Issue
Vol. 21 No. 68 (2019): Volume 21 Issue 68
Published
Aug 4, 2025
Pages
232-281

Abstract

The international protection of cultural heritage in general and antiquities in particular is considered an important subject. The international community devised several conventions that embody the protection and recovery of antiquities in case of exposure to theft. It is known that Iraqi antiquities had been subjected of theft and looting mainly during 2003-2014 which expresses the magnitude of cultural tragedy that these antiquities are exposed to. Supported by the international community Iraq seeks to protect and recover his looted antiquities that are today shown in several museums worldwide. Iraq was able to recover some of them yet the majority have not been recovered until now. This is probably due to a number of constraints mainly prescription rule taken by the international conventions which is meant to protect and recover the stolen antiquities including 1970 and 1995 conventions. In addition several states refused to return the stolen antiquities because of their power and influence and as these antiquities form an important source of income for their States. To show the efforts of the international community in recovering stolen Iraqi antiquities we broached the role of UNISCO INTERPOL and United Nations organization as well. In this study we seek to provide some recommendations that can contribute to recover Iraqi antiquities that are exposed to theft

References

  1. - dr.Ahmad Al-Ahmad, Memorials and Their Place in the Civilization of Peoples, Damascus University Journal for Engineering Sciences, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2005.
  2. -Ahmed Ali Al-Rabiaan, Protection of Antiquities in Saudi Arabia, Master Thesis, Department of Antiquities and Museums, King Saud University, Riyadh, 1481H.
  3. -d. Hassan Saad Sanad, d. Muammar Raitib Mohamed Abdel Hafez, Protection and Recovery of Egyptian Antiquities in the Light of International Treaties, A Step Forward for the Recovery of Egyptian Antiquities, Legal Books House, Egypt, 2014.
  4. -dr. Abbas Sayed Ahmed, Return of Antiquities to their home countries, research presented to the Scientific Symposium (Archeology) held by the Archaeological and Museums Agency, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh (2002).
  5. -Ibrahim Mustafa and Ahmad Hassan Al-Zayyat, Al-Waseet Al-Waseet, Vol. 1, 2nd Floor, Dar Al-Dawa, Istanbul, 1989, 1024.
  6. -Iman Omar Abbas, Writing in Ancient Iraq Research published on the following website:
  7. -Iraqi Archaeological Law No. 59 of 1936
  8. -UN Security Council document (2003 / may / 1483 / RES / S).
  9. -Azouzi Rahima, The American Invasion of Iraq in 2003, Master Thesis, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Mohammed Khodair University, Algeria, 2015.
  10. -Mosul Museum, Cultural Tragedy, Al Jazeera Encyclopedia, published on the following website:
  11. -UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003.
  12. -Ali Khafif, Monarchy in Islamic Sharia, Compared to Positive Laws, Research Institute, Master of Arabic Studies, Cairo, 1966.
  13. -UNESCO adopts an international draft resolution banning the smuggling of Iraqi antiquities, published on the following website:
  14. -Firas Yaoz Abdulqader, Criminal Protection of Antiquities, Master Thesis, College of Law, University of Baghdad, 1998.
  15. -Official website of the International Council of Museums
  16. -An important Iraqi-Jordanian consensus, the latter repeating Iraqi antiquities, published on the following website:
  17. -Qasim Ahmad Qasim, Legal Protection of Antiquities (Comparative Study), Master Thesis, Faculty of Law and Politics, Salahuddin University, 2003.
  18. -Official website of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law
  19. -Abi al-Fadl Jamal al-Din Mohammed bin Makram bin perspective African-Egyptian, lissanu al arab, i 4, Volume (15) Dar Sader for printing and publishing, Beirut, 2005.
  20. -Anas Mahmoud Al-Jabouri, Dilshad Abdulrahman Yousif, Theft of Antiquities and Heritage (Analytical Study in the light of the provisions of the Iraqi Antiquities and Heritage Law No. (55) for the year 2002), Tikrit University Journal for Legal and Human Sciences, Volume (2) No. (5) 2010.
  21. -Dr., Salah al-Din Amer, an introduction to the study of public international law, Dar Arab Renaissance, Cairo, 2007, p. 803.
  22. -Hamid al-Shammari, theft of civilization of stone and mud research published on the following site:
  23. -Ismail Abdulmajid Kuban, Criminal Protection of Antiquities: A Comparative Study, Master Thesis, Arab Research and Studies Institute, Cairo, 2007.
  24. -The Hague Convention of 1954.
  25. -UNESCO, UNESCO, International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage, First Plenary Session, Paris (24-25 May, 2004).
  26. -Abdullah Suleiman Suleiman, Basic Introductions to International Criminal Law, University Press, Algeria, 1992.
  27. -Annual report of the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism on (the destruction of cultural heritage in the city of Mosul) 2015.
  28. -dr. Haider Adham Al-Ta'i, Theft of Iraqi Cultural Property in the Light of Public International Law, Journal of Law, College of Law, Mustansiriya University, Vol. 4, No. (16) of 2011.
  29. -dr. Samer Abu Mazen (ISIS) in the eyes of peoples, report published on the following website:
  30. -First Optional Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention.
  31. -Hafida Mestavi, International Protection of Physical Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, MA Thesis, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Mohamed Khedir University, Soukra, Algeria, 2011.
  32. -Ali Ali Ghazi, Material Heritage and Moral Heritage, an article available at:
  33. -d. Abdullah Ali Abbou, international organizations (general provisions and the most important scientific, regional and specialized organizations), I 1, Duhok University Press 2010.
  34. -dr. Jaber Asfour, Defense of Heritage, Al-Arabi Kuwaiti Journal, Issue 639, February 2012.
  35. -Hemer Abdelkarim, Interpol, Master's Thesis, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Mohamed Khudair University, Sakra, Algeria, 2014.
  36. -Security Council document (2015 / February / 2199 / RES / S).
  37. -UNESCO Convention on Measures to Attend and Prevent the Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 1970.
  38. -UNESCO Convention on Measures to Attend, Prevent the Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of the Property
  39. -Ali Salem, ISIS Prospecting and Selling Mafia, an article published on the following website:
  40. -d. Ali Khalil Ismail Al-Hadithi, Protection of Cultural Property in International Law, Comparative Applied Study, Dar Al-Thaqafa for Publishing and Distribution, Beirut, Lebanon, 1999.
  41. -dr. Salah al-Din Bu-Jalal, International Safeguards and Legal Mechanisms for the Protection and Recovery of Arab Cultural Property Illicitly Traded, Kuwait International Law College Journal, Special Appendix, Issue 3, Part II, October 2018, p. 276 et seq.
  42. -Khader Abdul Ghaffar Musa, OIC position on the Palestinian issue from 1969 to 2000, MA thesis, Faculty of Arts, Islamic University, Gaza, Palestine, 2005.
  43. -Unified Arab Antiquities Law, 1981.
  44. -United Nations General Assembly document (2015 / June / 281/69 / RES / A).
  45. -Convention for the Return of Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Property, 1995.
  46. -d. Mohammed Sa'id Dakkak, requirement of interest in the claim of responsibility for the violation of international legitimacy, University Press, Beirut, Lebanon, 1983.
  47. -dr. Duha Saeed Al-Nu'man and Inam Jabbar Alwan, Cat Judgments (Comparative Study), Journal of Tikrit University for Legal and Political Sciences, Issue (8) Year (2), 2010.
  48. -dr. Mohamed Abou El Fotouh Ghanim, on heritage and archeology, an article published on the following website:
  49. -Security Council document (S / RES / 2347/2017).
  50. -Zaidi bin Rakid Msheih Alrwaili, the efforts of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in the dissemination of Islamic culture, Master Thesis, College of Da'wa and the origins of religion, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia, 1436.
  51. -d. Mohammed Samir, Protection of Antiquities and Arts in Islamic Sharia, Comparative Jurisprudential Study, Arab Renaissance House, Cairo, 2016.
  52. -dr. Yaser Hashem Emad, The Role of International and Regional Organizations in the Protection, Management and Promotion of Cultural Heritage, Domato Magazine, (Saudi Arabia) No. 34, 2016.
  53. -Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998.
  54. -Suleiman Abbas Al-Abdullah, Penal Protection of Archeology in Arab Legislation, Comparative Study, Ph.D. Thesis, Faculty of Law, Aleppo University, 2015.
  55. -Wafiq Al-Zahawi, Iraqi Museum, an article published on the following website:
  56. -d. Mohammed Samir Mohamed Zaki Abu Taha, Criminal Protection of Antiquities, A Comparative Fundamentalist Study, Arab Renaissance House, Cairo, 2012.
  57. -dr. Yahya Yassin Saud, Iraqi Cultural Property and its Protection and International Recovery, Journal of Law, Mustansiriya University, Vol. 4, No. 15, 2011.
  58. -International Symposium on Archeology during the War on Iraq in 1991, held in Baghdad in 1994, published on the following website:
  59. -Second Optional Protocol to the Hague Convention, 1999.
  60. -Suleiman Mohamed Suleiman, Criminal Protection of the Cultural Heritage, Master Thesis, Faculty of Law, Mansoura University, 2014.
  61. -Iraqi Antiquities Law No. 55 of 2002.
  62. -Izzedine Ghalia, International Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict, Ph.D., Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, Algeria, 2016.
  63. -Nariman Abdelkader, International Humanitarian Law and the 1954 Hague Convention and its Protocols for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Time of Armed Conflict, I, Halabi Human Rights Publications, Beirut, Lebanon, 2005.
  64. -Uma Sommer, article published on the following website:
  65. Eighth: Websites:
  66. Fifth: National Laws and International Agreements
  67. First: Language Books:
  68. Fourth: Messages and Theses:
  69. http: //www.al-jazira .com / 2015/20150712 / wo2.htm
  70. http://albayan.co.uk/Fileslib/adadimages/malfat%20pdf/daesh.pdf
  71. http://www.abualsoof.com/INP/Upload/Books/Summar.pdf
  72. http://www.alhayat.com/article/653392/
  73. http://www.Uruk-warka.dk/news/2007-05/the%20lootinq%20f%20Civilisations.pdf
  74. https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MUSEUM_CODE_OF_ETHICS-_Arabic.pdf
  75. https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/citiesandregions/2017/3/20
  76. https://www.alsumaria.tv/news/112109
  77. https://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=93809.
  78. https://www.m.arabi21.com.
  79. https://www.mesopot.com/default/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84
  80. https://www.noonpost.org/content/3842
  81. https://www.org.ia.en.
  82. References
  83. Second: Legal Books:
  84. Seventh: International Documents and Reports
  85. Sixth: Scientific Symposium
  86. Third: Researches and Periodicals:
  87. www. Unidroit.org

Author

mohammed khmmo

Faculty of Law and Politics / Nowruz University

ORCID

Identifiers

https://doi.org/10.33899/alaw.2019.163135
Download this PDF file
PDF

Statistics