PRESS RELEASE
New York, Thursday September 8, 2022. UN event hosted by Italy on the fight against illicit traffic of cultural property for terrorist purposes. The Carabinieri’s special unit TPC stands out as flagship corps in the international counter-terrorism action.
The Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN has hosted a roundtable of experts together with the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and UNESCO.
The event, focusing on illicit trade and traffic of cultural property for terrorist purposes, falls under Italy’s broader commitment within the UN to raise awareness on the role that the illicit trade and trafficking in cultural property can have in generating revenue to finance terrorist organizations.
Italy’s frontline engagement within the UN in this field is rooted in the experience of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (TPC), committed to preventing and contrasting the illicit traffic of cultural property, also beyond national borders. General Fabrizio Parrulli, Military and Defense Adviser, Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations, underscored that Italy was the first country in the world to set up in 1969 a special unit within the Carabinieri Corps tasked with the protection of cultural heritage and the fight against illegal trafficking of cultural property. Since then, Italy has been on the forefront of the fight against the illicit traffic of cultural property and the protection of cultural heritage, both domestically and internationally, working in close cooperation with UNESCO, INTERPOL and other UN agencies such as UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).
Several initiatives undertaken by Italy over the years speak to its commitment in this field. In 2016, for example, Italy launched the “Blue Helmets for Culture” initiative together with UNESCO, the flagship national Task Force of UNESCO’s “Unite4Heritage” Campaign. Moreover, Italy is co-chair together with the United States and Saudi Arabia of the “Counter ISIS Finance” Working Group of the Global Coalition against Daesh, and leads its sub-working group, which specifically addresses the illicit traffic of cultural property. In 2018, Italy co-founded the “Group of Friends for the Protection of Cultural Heritage” together with Cyprus, which promotes the ratification and implementation of relevant international instruments to prevent and fight the destruction of cultural heritage and the illicit trade of cultural property. This alliance of countries also aims to foster strengthened international cooperation among all the countries engaged in preventing and contrasting these crimes for terrorist purposes.
During the debate, attention was drawn onto the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2347 (2017) sponsored by Italy and France, which condemns the illegal destruction of cultural heritage, looting and illicit trade of cultural property in armed conflicts, especially when perpetrated by terrorist groups.
Italy is fully committed to following the Security Council’s call to all Member States for them to protect their cultural heritage, prevent, and contrast the illicit trade of cultural property and related crimes, in compliance with the obligations and pledges arising from the international law.
More recently, in 2021, the Security Council highlighted the importance of this topic by including it in its Resolution for the renewal of the CTED’s mandate. Said Resolution encourages the Directorate to raise awareness on the importance of the Member States’ cooperation on several aspects of illicit trade and trafficking of cultural property and on the compliance of all the related rules.
“CTED was honored to organize the roundtable in close collaboration with UNESCO and with the Permanent Mission of Italy in NY, who have been at the forefront of international efforts to prevent and counter the illicit traffic of cultural property. As CTED, we will continue to draw attention to the terrorist dimension of the issue, which – as we heard from the experts today – is an aspect often overlooked when investigating and prosecuting individuals connected with the illicit trade. We hope to continue to rely on Italy’s expertise as we move forward with our engagement with Member States in this regard” David Scharia, Director and Chief of Branch at CTED.
