Please join us for a special talk presented by the Waystation Initiative and the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program
Friday February 21, 2025
Time: 4:00 to 5:00 PM
Location: UCLA Campus Fowler Building A222 and Via Zoom
Anauene Dias Soares: UCLA Graduate Student Researcher and Doctoral Student in International Relations, University of Brasilia
Abstract: The illicit trafficking of cultural objects is a persistent problem in Brazil and other countries of the Global South. Insufficient legislation and public policies, coupled with failures in implementating the existing ones, hinder recovery efforts. Those involved in repatriation efforts are also often limited with legal issues of non-retroactivity and rule applicability, making little use of alternative instruments in repatriation. The cases of the Ubirajara jubatus fossil (returned from the Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe, Germany) and the Tupinambá cloak (returned from Copenhagen, Denmark) exemplify this. Existing domestic and international laws have proved to be insufficient to prevent the misappropriation of cultural objects and to ensure their ethical management and return. A more effective solution requires global community engagement, fostering dialogue, collaboration, and the development of shared strategies to return cultural heritage to its origins.Therefore, this presentation will focus on to identify some alternative strategies, as well as ethical conditions for the repatriation of cultural objects to their place of origin, such as voluntary repatriation and its specificities. It will also present a brief comparative study of relevant legal considerations and their limitations for the return of cultural objects, both in Brazil and abroad.
