Unidroit Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995, Rome)

General overview of the Convention  

• English, 
• French, 
• Spanish

The UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (Rome, 1995) , was drafted in a single original in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Unofficial translations of the Convention are available in:

• Arabic language version  prepared by the UNESCO Iraq Bureau
• Chinese language version  prepared by UNESCO
• Dutch language version  prepared by the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs
• German language version  prepared by the Swiss Federal Office for Culture
• Greek language version 
• Italian language version 
• Russian language version  prepared by UNESCO
• Spanish language version  authorised by the UNIDROIT Secretariat
• Swedish language version  prepared by the Ministry of Culture
• Vietnamese language version 

• Explanatory Report on the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural ObjectsFrench , Arabic  (translation into Arabic prepared by the UNESCO Iraq Bureau).
• First meeting of the special committee to review the practical operation of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention(UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, 19 June 2012).
• Model legislative provisions on State ownership of undiscovered cultural objects.These Model Provisions, established by a group of experts convened by the UNESCO and UNIDROIT Secretariats, are intended to assist domestic bodies in the establishment of a normative framework for heritage protection, to adopt effective legislation for the establishment and recognition of the State´s ownership of undiscovered cultural objects with a view, inter alia, to facilitating restitution in case of unlawful removal. They are followed by guidelines aimed at better understanding the provisions.
• Status of the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects - Signatures, Ratifications, Accessions  [draft model instruments for the ratification, acceptance, approval and accession; formalities to be carried out by the State concerned]
• How to become a Party to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects
• Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of the Draft UNIDROIT Convention on the International Return of Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, Rome, 7 to 24 June 1995 [Participants, Documents of the Conference, Acts and Proceedings, Depositary]
• Preparatory work [documents of the Study Group and of the Committee of governmental experts (1988 to 1994)]
• Information note to facilitate the understanding of the complementarity between, and the functioning of, the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001399/139969E.pdf]
• Useful link: UNESCO Cultural Heritage Laws Database