Minister of Culture Olivia Grange on Thursday signed the instrument of ratification for the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
Grange signed the instrument on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith.
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Also present at the signing ceremony, held at the ministry, was Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO, who is on an official visit to Jamaica. His visit, the first by a UNESCO Director-General to Jamaica in 23 years, coincided with the signing.
El-Enany, an Egyptian national, is the first UNESCO Director-General from the Arab world and the second from the African continent. He noted that Jamaica has been a strong partner of UNESCO and reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to that relationship.
Grange explained that the ratification aligns with ongoing amendments to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Act, emphasizing that international commitments must be supported by robust domestic legislation.
“Cabinet approved not only ratification of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, but also the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, along with amendments to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Act, which have now been submitted for drafting instructions,” she said.
The minister highlighted the government’s focus on strengthening institutional capacity, particularly among border control and law enforcement agencies. This has included targeted training for approximately 200 officers from the Jamaica Customs Agency in Kingston and Montego Bay, equipping them to better identify and intercept illicit cultural items.
She added that further training sessions are planned, noting that these efforts are already yielding results, with customs officials recently intercepting two cultural items at major ports.
Grange said the ratification sends a clear message about the country’s commitment to safeguarding its heritage.
“The signing is a significant step forward in the protection and preservation of Jamaica’s cultural heritage. It firmly positions our country within the global network committed to preventing the illicit trafficking and theft of our artifacts, activities that erode a nation’s history, identity, and collective memory, particularly for source countries like Jamaica,” she said.
