Paragraph 31 of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration adopted on 9 September 2023 puts culture in the driver’s seat towards the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The declaration calls for full recognition and protection of culture, with its intrinsic value, as a transformative driver and enabler for the achievement of SDGs.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears on a screen as he attends
“Session II: One Family” at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Sept. 9, 2023. (AP/PTI)
In the document, the G20 leaders also reiterated their “commitment to strengthen the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property at national, regional or international levels” and to enable its return and restitution to their countries and communities of origin as relevant. India had proposed “restitution of cultural heritage” as part of the G20 culture track agenda during India’s Presidency and called for the inclusion of culture as a standalone goal towards a post-2030 development agenda.
In fact, prevention of illegal trafficking of antiquities and the return of such objects has been among the main themes of the deliberations of the culture working group, through its four meetings – starting with Khajuraho in February, followed by Bhubaneswar in May, Hampi in July, and finally, the ministerial held in August in Varanasi. To highlight this, the Ministry of Culture had organised an exhibition titled ‘Re(ad)dress: Return of Treasures’, on the sidelines of the Khajuraho meet, showcasing 26 artefacts that have returned to India after being stolen and smuggled abroad.
The G20 Leaders’ Declaration enshrines the priorities and aspirations outlined in the Outcome Document of the Culture Ministers’ Meeting – the ‘Kashi Culture Pathway’.
UNIDROIT had the privilege to be invited to participate in the work of the G20 Working Group Culture – and Ministerial Meeting – which focussed on four priority areas: 1) Prevention and restitution of cultural property; 2) Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future; 3) Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries, and Creative Economy and 4) Leveraging Digital Technologies for Protection and Promotion of Culture.
The ‘Kashi Culture Pathway’ called for “a strengthened and effective global coalition to bolster the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property, particularly by encouraging the ratification and effective implementation of international agreements and conventions as relevant – notably [….] the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995) […] while also ensuring progress and better implementation of international standards, in close cooperation with relevant organizations including UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOM, ICOMOS and UNIDROIT”. It also “welcome[d] progress made at national, regional or international levels towards resolving issues and enabling the return and restitution of cultural property to their countries and communities of origin, particularly through bilateral dialogue and multilateral mechanisms provided by UNESCO and UNIDROIT as appropriate. We call for sustained dialogue and action in that endeavour at the bilateral and multilateral levels, with a view to strengthen cultural diplomacy and intercultural exchanges, in particular by: […] supporting an open and inclusive dialogue on the return and restitution of cultural property”.
New Delhi Leader’s Declaration
https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/CPV/G20-New-Delhi-Leaders-Declaration.pdf
Kashi Culture Pathway
https://www.g20.org/content/dam/gtwenty/gtwenty_new/document/2–new/G20_Culture_Ministers_Meeting_Outcome_Document_and_Chairs_summary.pdf
G20 Culture Shaping the Global Narrative for Inclusive Growth
Professor Iacopo Donati is the UNIDROIT/Bank of Italy Chair Holder and is mainly responsible for assisting in the Bank Insolvency project. He is Professor of Corporate and Insolvency Law at the University of Siena, and coordinates the research project ‘Pro.Re.Ba.’ (Proportionating rules on bank crisis prevention and management to the case of retail banks), which has received funding from the Italian Ministry of University. He has previously taught corporate law at the University of Venice ‘Ca’ Foscari’, at the University of Florence and at the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’.
rtered Institute of Arbitrators (London). He further holds a post-graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law. Allan is also a scholar from the Hague Academy of International Law.
rofessor Ignacio Tirado was appointed Secretary-General by the Governing Council at its 97th session, and officially took office on 27 August 2018. A national of Spain, Professor Tirado (Commercial, Corporate and Insolvency Law, Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, Spain) holds a PhD from the Universities of Bologna and Autónoma de Madrid and an LLM from the University of London. Professor Tirado has been a Senior Legal Consultant at the World Bank’s Legal Vice-Presidency and Financial Sector Practice for more than nine years, having also consulted for the IMF on insolvency related matters as well as for the Asian Development Bank on commercial legal reform.
A Swedish national, Ms Lena Peters grew up in Italy where she attended an English school. In 1978 she took her Juris Kandidatexamen at Stockholm University followed by a Master of Laws from King’s College, London (1979). Since 1985 she has been with UNIDROIT, first as Research Officer, lastly as Principal Legal Officer, her main duties being Secretary to the Working Group for the Preparation of Principles of International Commercial Contracts, Secretary to the Study Group on Franchising, Secretary to the Committee of Governmental Experts on Franchising.She also collaborated on the project for the preparation of the ELI-Unidroit Model European Rules of Civil Procedure. She is currently Managing Editor of the Uniform Law Review and responsible for publications at UNIDROIT.
Marina Schneider is Principal Legal Officer and Treaty Depositary at UNIDROIT. She studied law at the University of Strasbourg (France) and Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne. She joined the UNIDROIT in 1987 and was involved in the elaboration and French versions of most UNIDROIT instruments since. She is in charge of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects and of the UNESCO-UNIDROIT Model Provisions on State Ownership of Undiscovered Cultural Objects. She is the author of the Explanatory Report of the 1995 Convention and many articles on the Convention and other international instruments in the field. Ms Schneider is also responsible for the project on private collections and for the UNIDROIT Convention Academic Project (UCAP). She is member of the Board of the International Society for Research on Art and Cultural Heritage Law (ISCHAL).
Professor of Commercial Law, Carlos III University of Madrid. Currently, Sir Roy Goode Scholar at UNIDROIT, Rome, 2021-2022. Chair of Excellence 2017-2018 at University of Oxford (Uc3m- Santander Program), affiliated to Harris Manchester College. Previously Distinguished Visiting Professor and fellow of a number of Academic Institutions. Arbitrator of Madrid Court of Arbitration. Member of ELI (European Law Institute) Council and Executive Committee. Member of the Expert Group of the European Commission on Liability and New Technologies and member of the Expert Group of the European Observatory of Platform Economy; the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law; the expert group of the Inclusive Global Legal Innovation Platform for Online Dispute Resolution – UNCITRAL and Hong Kong Department of Justice. Expert of the UNIDROIT Study Group on the MAC Protocol of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests. Delegate of Spain to UNIDROIT for the adoption of the Protocol, delegate of Spain in Working Group VI of UNCITRAL on secured transactions and in Working Group IV on Electronic Commerce. Member of UNIDROIT Working Groups on Enforcement and Warehouse Receipts.
William Brydie-Watson is an Australian lawyer who specialises in secured transactions law and private international law. Before joining UNIDROIT, William was a government lawyer in the Private International Law and International Arbitration section of the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, where he worked primarily on treaty negotiation and the implementation of private international law treaties in Australia. At UNIDROIT, he is primarily responsible for the implementation of the Mining, Agriculture and Construction (MAC Protocol) to the 2001 Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the development of a Model Law on Factoring. William also serves as UNIDROIT’s liaison with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and as manager of the Institute’s Scholarship and Internship Programme. Admitted to practice in New South Wales and the High Court of Australia, he has a Bachelor of Arts (honours), a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws from the Australian National University. William also lectures on International Secured Transactions Law at the Eotvos Lorand Faculty of Law in Budapest.