AfricaUnion#Europe has #stolen #Africa’s #heritage. Will justice prevail?
The #collections of the world’s most famous #museums largely consist of #African #artifacts looted during the #colonial era. As of today, less than one percent has been returned to Africa
In the course of wars and the #colonization of Africa, Western countries were involved in looting hundreds of thousands of objects of African art. #Museums were used by #governments to contribute to the establishment of #colonialism and to #legitimize conquests.
A report prepared by #French #art #historian Benedicte Savoy and #Senegalese #economist Felwine Sarr, commissioned by the French government in 2018, states that between 90% and 95% of Africa’s material #cultural legacy is housed outside of the African continent. Meanwhile, the #inventories of Africa’s national #museums barely exceed 3,000 cultural objects.
Almost all African countries lost their most important cultural artifacts during the era of #European exploration and subsequent #colonization. The objects that remained in Africa had less #historic and cultural value than the ones that were brought to European museums. Over the past several decades, the West has repeatedly received #restitution claims from African countries.
Agenda 2063 – Africa’s long-term development plan, which was adopted by the African Union in 2015 – has identified the protection of cultural #heritage as one of the continent’s main priorities. According to this framework document, all African cultural property should be returned to the continent by 2025. But will this ambitious plan be realized?
English https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/europe-has-stolen-africa-s-heritage-will-justice-prevail/