France’s National Assembly has unanimously passed a bill to return cultural property looted from the country’s former colonial empire.
Lawmakers in France’s National Assembly unanimously voted in favour of a bill on Monday that facilitates the return of artworks and artefacts looted from former French colonies. The French Senate had approved the draft legislation in January.
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Recent requests for the restitution of artefacts have been submitted to France from countries like Algeria, Mali, and Benin.
The bill aims to simplify the return of cultural property taken illegally from France’s former colonies, particularly focusing on items taken between 1815 and 1972 - the year UNESCO’s convention for the protection of cultural heritage came into force.
The long-awaited restitution legislation has been passed nearly a decade after President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to return cultural property taken from African countries.
“African heritage cannot solely exist in private collections and European museums,” the French President said in a November 2017 speech in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. “Within five years I want the conditions to exist for temporary or permanent returns of African heritage to Africa.”
The new bill requires a state to make a request for the return of items and commit to protecting and displaying them to the public. The request will then be assessed and approved by a committee, based on evidence that the items had been acquired illegitimately or through force. Military items, public archives, and shares of archeological digs are excluded.
While the vote on the restitution bill was unanimous, members debated the scope of the bill - particularly the dates it applies to.
Earlier this year, France returned the sacred Djidji Ayôkwé drum to Ivory Coast. The sacred drum was taken by colonial troops in 1916.
