Cambodia committed to combating illicit trafficking of cultural properties, says minister

SIEM REAP (Cambodia), Sept 5 (Xinhua): Cambodia is committed to working closely with other Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) member states and international partners to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural properties, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona said here on Monday.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Cultural Property Protection, Sackona said Cambodia and Asean recognised the critical and urgent need to safeguard South-east Asia's shared heritage by combating illicit trade in cultural property and building a responsible art market.

"In recent years, Cambodia and the Asean member states have made great strides in protecting their rich history from cultural losses due to organized looting and theft, while working tirelessly to strengthen responsible cultural exchanges with foreign governments, museums, and the private sector," she said.

"However, the global art market continues to be full of stolen cultural objects. Therefore, Cambodia is dedicated to collaborating with other Asean member states and other international partners to combat the illicit trade and promote the protection of cultural property," she said.

The minister said as the chair of Asean for 2022, Cambodia would do its best to safeguard and foster ASEAN identity, as well as to maintain and enhance peace, security, and stability in Southeast Asia.

The three-day conference brought together Asean ministers responsible for culture and arts as well as experts in cultural policy, law enforcement, museums, and the art market from around the world.

"It gives us the opportunity to discuss in some depth the dimensions of illicit trafficking of cultural properties in our region, and to outline some of the strategies that have begun to bear fruit in the return of stolen antiquities," Sackona said.

According to her, in the past, a massive number of national treasures were illicitly trafficked out of Cambodia and commodified in the international art market. Cambodia's wide-ranging experience in retrieving its stolen national treasures has shown that it is possible to successfully repatriate stolen national treasures through international cooperation.

In a recent success, Cambodia was able to secure the return of 30 looted masterpieces, including the statues of "Ganesha" and "Skanda on a Peacock", from the United States. - Xinhua