They consider it essential that citizens can preserve their identity. Alert to international consumers of antiques that have a special caution with valuable objects that come from this country. Traffic in these pieces of art constitutes a crime of unlawful ownership of cultural property since 1970. The Director-general of Unesco, Irina Bokova, has called this Thursday urgent measures to protect the cultural heritage Libyan in the transitional period because this is essential so that its citizens can preserve their identity and build a better future. Therefore, the maximum responsible of the United Nations Organization for education, science and culture (organization Unesco) has requested the Libyan people, to neighbouring countries and to agents of the international trade in art and antiques that make everything possible to protect the valuable cultural heritage of Libya.Experience shows that there is a serious danger of destruction in the periods of social upheaval. It has also taught us to be on alert for unscrupulous individuals not carried out looting that often damaged the integrity of objects and archaeological sites, said Bokova. Alert to the international market the Director general added that negligent traders buying these works and fragments that do is incite major looting occur.
Therefore, it is crucial that international antiques market keep a special caution with respect to the works from Libya under the current circumstances, he warned. Bokova recalled that looting, theft and smuggling of cultural property contravene the Convention of Unesco on measures that should be taken to prohibit and prevent the import, export and transfer of illicit ownership of cultural property (1970). People such as Rio- Tinto Diamonds would likely agree. That Convention is the only international legal instrument focused exclusively in the fight against illicit traffic of cultural property, he noted. Source of the news: Unesco calls for urgent measures to protect the cultural heritage of Libya