Muscat, 13 Nov (ONA) — The Sultanate of Oman joins the rest of the world in celebrating the International Day Against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property, which falls on 14 November of every year.

The celebration aims to raise awareness about the importance of protecting cultural property from illicit trafficking, the need to take necessary precautionary measures and procedures, and the necessity of international cooperation in this regard. The phenomenon of illicit trafficking in cultural property is an international issue that requires cooperation, solidarity, and the exchange of experiences among countries to significantly halt or reduce it.

The Sultanate of Oman is rich in a tangible cultural heritage stock with multiple forms and contents. This includes fixed monuments like castles, forts, historical landmarks, and archaeological sites, unique geological heritage sites, and movable cultural heritage which includes, for example, pottery, flint vessels, seals, arrowheads, coins, meteorites, and many others.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism affirmed that tangible cultural heritage embodies the civilizational and human legacy and the identity of peoples, and that illicit trafficking in this cultural property has negative dimensions and consequences that affect peoples and their identity and lead to the loss of a part of their cultural heritage.

The Ministry has undertaken numerous efforts to preserve and sustain Omani cultural heritage through several projects and initiatives, by fostering awareness of the importance of this cultural heritage and building the capacities of relevant Omani entities to preserve it. This includes taking necessary measures to avoid the sale, smuggling, and theft of cultural property. The Ministry also maintains continuous coordination and communication with international organizations and attends relevant meetings and workshops.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism pointed out that, in activation of the Omani Cultural Heritage Law issued by Royal Decree No. (35/2019), which includes the management, conservation, preservation, and sustainability of Omani cultural heritage, and stemming from the importance of having a comprehensive database of cultural property in the Sultanate of Oman, a Register of Omani Cultural Heritage has been established as stipulated in Article No. (33). A website and electronic application for the Register have been completed. This enables citizens, private, and government museums to list the cultural property in their possession. Specialists at the Ministry then examine, register, and document the cultural property through the database by issuing a cultural property registration certificate. The application and website also allow the user to carry out other operations such as export, loan, sale, purchase, donation, and reporting loss. Each piece will have a unique code issued by the Register, which will help competent authorities track the item in case of theft or loss.

The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is currently working in coordination with government and private museums to register their cultural property through the website and electronic application to create a national database of cultural property.

The Omani Cultural Heritage Register aims to preserve cultural property for its sustainability and transfer to future generations, and to manage Omani tangible cultural heritage in terms of sale, purchase, export, import, and loan to contribute to limiting illicit trafficking operations. It also aims to provide a scientific electronic database for all cultural property, register cultural property according to international standards, and contribute to tracking any item that may be stolen, lost, or damaged, and promote Omani heritage internally and externally.

The Sultanate of Oman affirms its commitment and support for all international efforts aimed at protecting and sustaining human cultural heritage, recognizing the importance of international agreements. Oman has ratified several agreements.