• AU, UNESCO to host African cultural restitution event in Barcelona
• Session to address progress, challenges, and legal framework
• France advances law easing returns; UK maintains legal block

A high-level event on the restitution of African cultural property will be held in Barcelona on Wednesday, October 1, on the sidelines of the UNESCO MONDIACULT 2025 World Conference. The session, titled "Return and Restitution of Cultural Property: Advancing Cultural Rights in Africa," was announced on Wednesday, August 27, on UNESCO's official website and will be co-organized with the African Union Commission (AUC) at the International Convention Center of Barcelona (CCIB).

The meeting is part of the African Union's 2025 theme, "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations." It aims to bring the issue of restitution back to the forefront of international discourse by gathering ministers, experts, and institutions to discuss progress, obstacles, and concrete solutions.

The issue of restitution remains a contentious one. Since 2017, several African nations have initiated efforts to recover their national treasures. In 2021, Benin secured the return of 26 royal artifacts from Abomey, while in July 2025, Côte d'Ivoire saw the return of the Djidji Ayôkwé talking drum. Nigeria has also reclaimed some of the bronzes from the Kingdom of Benin.

However, the British Museum continues to refuse permanent restitution, citing a 1963 British law.

In contrast, some European countries have shown a willingness to expedite the process. In France, a draft framework law introduced on July 30, 2025, seeks to simplify restitution by allowing it to be done by decree, bypassing the need for parliamentary approval in every case. According to a 2018 report, French museums alone hold nearly 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa.

The Barcelona event will extend discussions that began in Addis Ababa last January, where for the first time, all 54 African Union member states convened to address the restitution issue. It will highlight initiatives such as the Great Museum of Africa, a project under the AU's Agenda 2063, and legal instruments like the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the "Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property ."

Beyond the artifacts themselves, the stakes are both historical and political. For Africa, the goal is to restore narratives, rehabilitate a history that has been altered, and assert a cultural sovereignty that has long been denied.

Servan Ahougnon