Impact of Art Theft on the World Today

The theft of cultural objects, such as famous works of art, is now recognized as one of the most prevalent of all international crimes and second only to drug trafficking. One of the most significant worldwide efforts to prevent the theft of cultural property was started by The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization known as UNESCO.

UNESCO is an international organization that promotes international collaboration for the respect of human rights. In 1970, UNESCO organized a conference to address the problem of cultural property theft. The conference defined cultural property theft as any object that is of importance for a countries archaeology, prehistory, history, literature, art or science. They also began to set guidelines for nations regarding laws that prohibit the illegal transfer of cultural property, establishing inventory of international cultural property, and the framework to establishing laws concerning the amount of publicity that all art thefts should receive on an international level.

Since the UNESCO conference, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation established an Art Crime Team with special agents and attorneys. The F.B.I. also has a computer database called the National Stolen Art File.. It is a computer database of reported stolen art for use of law enforcement throughout the world. For an object to be able to put in the NSAF it must have a value of at least $2,000. The F.B.I. works with law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. and with international organization such as INTERPOL to keep this data base current.

In 1993 the J. Paul Getty Trust began a project called Object ID. It was established in 1997 and was promoted by UNESCO as the standard for data on cultural property. To prove ownership, the title, creator, date of the object, a written visual description of the object, the material its composed of, the technique by which it was created, the measurements and other original characteristics are listed in this data bank. This database is essential to curtail the theft of art and to recover art that is stolen.

Art theft is not a joke. Many countries have become upset because much of their cultural memorabilia has been taken from them during war time and times of trouble. This looting has impacted the lives of millions around the world. Art is a picture of the cultures that have existed and exist today. It is a story of the people in history and throughout our world. Art is a legacy of the lives that lived before and a gift for our future. Art that is stolen is a loss for all mankind and future generations.