A three-day summit was held in Doha to address the issue of trafficking of works of art and strengthen measures to counter it. The workshop, entitled “Countering Trafficking of Cultural Property Including Documentary Heritage”, was organized by the Qatar National Library with the Qatari Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy, together with the US and French Embassies.
The seminar mainly focused on crisis areas and contexts of war or natural disasters that may endanger the historical, artistic and documentary heritage of affected territories. In his speech, the Italian Ambassador to Qatar, Alessandro Prunas, recalled Italy’s commitment against the international trafficking of cultural heritage and the many initiatives Italy is involved in for the protection of cultural property in crisis areas.
Attila M. Tanzi, Professor of International Law at the University of Bologna and legal advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Carabinieri Marshall Antonella Spagnuolo of the Rome-based Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage also spoke at the conference on behalf of Italy. Antonella Spagnuolo presented in more detail the commitment of the Carabinieri, the Ministry of Culture and the Italian Armed Forces and police to counter the trafficking of works of art and for the repatriation of illegally stolen objects. Finally, on the occasion of the workshop and thanks to the commitment of Professor Tanzi, closer cooperation was established between the College of Law of Qatar University and the Department of Law of the University of Bologna.
