Улаанбаатар
International workshop on fighting illegal trafficking of cultural property commences
Society
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On August 26, an international workshop under the theme "Combating illicit cross-border trafficking in cultural property for OSCE Asian Partners for Cooperation Region" began at the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO. Mongolian officials of the Customs Authority, Specialized Inspection Agency, Police Department and other government agencies, delegates from South Korea, Thailand and Japan as well as experts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and experts on combating illicit trafficking in cultural property from Italy, France, Macedonia, Greece and USA are attending the five-day workshop organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry Education, Culture, Science and Sports (MECSS) and the OSCE's Transnational Threats Department.
The workshop is designed for sharing experiences on combating illegal trafficking of cultural properties with each other and getting acquainted with legal environment and crimes and violations of the host country Mongolia in this regard.
On the event, officer of the Culture and Arts policy department of MECSS B.Davaatseren said “This event is the first ever comprehensive workshop held in Mongolia on the issue of illegal trafficking of cultural properties, gathering international experts. The anticipated outcome of the workshop is that opportunities for international cooperation on safeguarding the cultural properties will be increased, certain projects would continue to be implemented with participation of foreign countries and the participating officials and specialists of the law enforcement organizations will increase their knowledge”.
He further noted that a project to connect police, intelligence, customs and specialized inspection organizations of Mongolia to an information network is underway, allowing them to exchange information using a special system.
On the first day of the event, officials noted that proper legal environment on protecting the cultural heritage items is built in Mongolia thanks to more than twenty regulations concerning this issue and law on protection of cultural heritage, criminal code, infringement law. In spite of the rules and regulations, illicit cross-border trafficking in cultural property is still at a critical rate, the participants noted.
