The Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO for the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin (ICPRCP) adopted, for the first time this year, not only a Recommendation, which it routinely adopts on this issue, but also a Decision (Decision 22 COM 17), exclusively targeted at the issue of the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, during its 22nd session.

Sections of the Parthenon's Ionic frieze in the British Museum [Credit: Graham Barclay, BWP Media/Getty Images]

According to a statement by the Ministry of Culture, "the added value of the decision lies in the fact that the Commission expresses its strong dissatisfaction with the fact that the resolution of the issue remains pending due to the position of the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it urges the United Kingdom to reconsider its position and enter into a dialogue in good faith with Greece, underlining emphatically the intergovernmental nature of the dispute.

Below is the full statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the issue:

"The work of the 22nd Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO on the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin (ICPRCP) concluded yesterday. One of the main issues on the Commission's agenda was the issue of the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures (Greece v. United Kingdom), which has been firmly on the Commission's agenda since 1984, when it was first raised by Melina Mercouri.

For the first time this year, in addition to the Recommendation, which the Commission has consistently adopted on the issue, the Commission has unanimously adopted an additional text, a Decision (Decision 22 COM 17), exclusively targeted at the issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles.

"Greece's request for the definitive return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens has been continuously on the agenda of the meetings of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin (ICPRCP) since 1984, when it was first raised by Melina Mercouri, until today.

At the 22nd Session, which concluded last night, Greece achieved, along with the adoption of the Recommendation - which refers to the poor conditions of the Sculptures in the British Museum - the adoption, for the first time, of a Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee specifically on the issue of the return of the Parthenon Sculptures. The Commission urges the United Kingdom to reconsider its position and to engage in talks with Greece, recognising that the issue is of an intergovernmental nature - contrary to what the British side claims that the case concerns the British Museum - and, above all, that Greece is rightly and legally claiming the return of the Sculptures to their native land. Both texts, the Recommendation and the Decision, constitute a particularly important development in our country's entirely legitimate claim.

I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the members of the Greek delegation, as well as the members of our Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, who, with great dedication to the goal of the definitive return of the Sculptures, worked systematically and achieved this extremely positive result.

The added value of the Decision lies in the fact that the Commission strongly deplores the fact that the resolution of the issue remains pending due to the attitude of the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it urges the United Kingdom to reconsider its position and enter into a dialogue in good faith with Greece, underlining emphatically the intergovernmental nature of the dispute.

Similarly, the text of the Recommendation reflects, inter alia, the Commission's concern that the Duveen Gallery at the British Museum, where the Parthenon Sculptures are on display, is closed to the public because of the necessary restoration work to repair the damage.

Greece's just demand for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures was strongly supported by the majority of the Commission's members.

At the 22nd Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, Greece was represented by the General Secretary of Culture, George Didaskalos, the Director General of the Acropolis Museum, Nikolaos Stambolidis, and the Head of the Directorate of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property, Vasiliki Papageorgiou.

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by the legal advisor of the Special Legal Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Artemis Papathanasiou."

Source: ANA-MPA [trsl. TANN; September 30, 2021]