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| Yemen's coveted artefacts |
Yemen's Ambassador to UNESCO, Dr. Mohammed Jumeh, has signed the UNIDROIT Convention, a key international treaty aimed at curbing the illegal trade of cultural property. The treaty encourages buyers to exercise greater due diligence when acquiring cultural artifacts, addressing a major gap in the 1970 UNESCO Convention on illicit trafficking.
On October 7, Yemen officially acceded to the UNIDROIT Convention, along with the required declarations, signaling its commitment to tackling the illegal sale and purchase of stolen or illegally exported cultural objects. The treaty, which will come into effect for Yemen on April 1 of next year, establishes mechanisms for the protection, repatriation, and return of such items.
This move follows Yemen’s ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in June, which took effect on September 5, further strengthening Yemen’s legal framework for cultural heritage protection.
The ongoing current looting of cultural artifacts in Yemen is driven by the country's ongoing political instability and the severe humanitarian crisis caused by the protracted civil war. Widespread corruption, soaring fuel prices, and food insecurity have left large parts of the country vulnerable, while the overall economic collapse has further strained resources.
As a result, Yemen’s archaeological sites, ancient cities, and pre-Islamic artifacts have become prime targets for looters and unscrupulous art dealers. Local cultural institutions often lack the means to safeguard these heritage sites from organized theft, which fuels the international black market for trafficked antiquities. This situation complicates efforts to reclaim and return looted items, creating significant challenges in their repatriation.
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