UN adopts Egypt's resolution against trafficking in antiquities
Parties to the UN organised crime convention backed it unanimously in Vienna, targeting the networks and money behind the trade.
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Vienna — Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime have unanimously adopted an Egyptian-sponsored resolution to fight illicit trafficking in cultural property, at the convention's 13th Conference of the Parties in Vienna.
What it does
- Targets not only the smuggled objects but the criminal networks and financial flows behind them
- Calls for faster international cooperation to investigate and prosecute
- Addresses links with money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing
- Gives a supporting role to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, working with UNESCO and Interpol
The resolution was prepared by Egypt's foreign and justice ministries and the Public Prosecution. Prosecutor General Mohamed Shawky led the delegation.
Egypt's ambassador in Vienna, Mohamed Nasr, said trafficking in cultural property is not just a crime for profit: it damages a society's memory, identity and continuity, and can cause losses that can never be undone.
Source: Daily News Egypt, 24 October 2026.
