This afternoon a new section on the theft and trafficking of cultural objects is being added to the official INTERPOL web site (http://www.INTERPOL.int). Visitors to the site can now see and search recently stolen items - paintings, sculpture, coins, furniture and jewellery - as well as items which have been discovered but not yet claimed.

The Specialised Officer for Cultural Property at the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France, said today: ‘We want to encourage greater awareness of the illicit trade in cultural objects and the work that we do in combating this type of crime. Partnership is the key to our approach, working with cultural heritage organizations (including museums, national inventories, and archaeological organizations), law enforcement agencies, customs agencies as well as the art trade and the insurance industry.’

INTERPOL’s Stolen Works of Art database is available to law enforcement in all 178 member countries, and via annual subscription on CD-ROM which is updated every two months. Newly stolen works of art appear on the web site between updates.

The site also features information on the ICOM Red List which identifies certain African terracotta statuettes from Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and the Côte d’Ivoire as particularly at risk. Object-ID is explained, an identification system developed to help non-experts classify cultural objects according to agreed standards.

The theft of cultural objects affects both developed and developing countries and is sustained by continuing demand from the arts market. Increasing freedom from border controls, faster, more efficient communications infrastructure and political instability in some areas of the world all contribute to the phenomenon.

ENDS

Communications & Public Relations Sub-Directorate
e-mail: Communication and public relations
fax: +33 4 72 44 74 07