KINGSTON, Jamaica—Minister of Culture Olivia Grange on Thursday signed the instrument of ratification for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 1970 Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property.

Minister Grange signed the instrument of ratification on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith.

Joining her at the signing cerem0ony at the ministry was the Director-General of UNESCO, Khaled El-Enany, who is paying an official visit to Jamaica. His visit, the first by a UNESCO director-general to Jamaica in 23 years, is regarded as fittingly coinciding with today’s signing.

El-Enany, who is Egyptian, is the first Director-General of UNESCO from the Arab world and the second from the African continent. He said that Jamaica had been a solid partner with UNESCO and that UNESCO would remain faithful to the partnership.

“We deliberately aligned this process with amendments to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Act, recognising that strong international commitments must be supported by robust domestic legislation. Cabinet approved not only ratification of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, but also the 1995 International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (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,” Grange said.

Grange said the government’s focus has been on building capacity, particularly among our border control and law enforcement agencies.

“This effort has included targeted training for officers of the Jamaica Customs Agency, engaging approximately 200 hundred officers across Kingston and Montego Bay, who are now better equipped to identify, intercept, and protect cultural property. We intend to continue this work, with additional training planned for Montego Bay later this year, building on the sessions held in Kingston in February. These efforts are already yielding results, as the Jamaica Customs Agency has engaged the ministry regarding two cultural items intercepted at our main ports,” she continued.

She said the ratification sends a clear message that Jamaica values its heritage, Jamaica protects its cultural property, and Jamaica will not allow its history to be traded away.

“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 artefacts, activities that result in the erosion and loss of a nation’s history, identity, and collective memory, particularly for source countries like Jamaica,” Grange said.