There will be a formal meeting between the UK and Greece to discuss the Parthenon marbles

There will be a formal meeting between the United Kingdom and Greece on the return to the Hellenic country of the Parthenon marbles now held at the British Museum. The surprise news came yesterday, May 18, during International Museum Day, following the publication of a report byUNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Promotion of the Restitution of Cultural Property to Countries of Origin (ICPRCP), which is meeting these days in Paris (May 18-20). However, this is not a thunderbolt: already last October, in fact, UNESCO had adopted a formal decision in which it reprimanded the United Kingdom and asked the British government to review its position on the issue.

“The case of the Parthenon sculptures,” the report says, “was submitted to the Committee in 1984. Since then, the Committee has considered the case in its successive sessions and adopted several recommendations to reach a mutually acceptable solution and inviting the Director-General to facilitate meetings to that end. On many occasions, UNESCO has reiterated its readiness to act as a facilitator between Greece and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in this regard.”

Unesco recalled how during the 22nd session of the ICPRCP, Recommendation 22.COM 6 was adopted, which, among other things, calls on Greece and the United Kingdom to “intensify their efforts with a view to reaching a satisfactory solution to this long-standing issue, taking into account its history, culture, and ethics” (paragraph 9), and invites the Director General to “assist in convening the necessary meetings between Greece and the United Kingdom in order to reach a mutually acceptable solution on this issue” (paragraph 10). At the same session, Decision 22.COM 6 mentioned above was adopted, which “calls on the UK to reconsider its position and proceed to a dialogue in good faith with Greece on the issue [of the Parthenon sculptures].” Following Recommendation 22.COM 6, the UNESCO Secretariat sent two letters to the UK and Greece in March 2022, requesting information and proposing to facilitate dialogue.

It is learned from UNESCO that the United Kingdom and Greece responded to the Secretariat on April 8 and April 18, 2022, respectively, describing actions taken to continue dialogue on the Parthenon Marbles case. In this regard, both states mentioned the bilateral meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London in November 2021, during which Prime Minister Johnson had reiterated the UK’s long-standing position that this issue remains the responsibility of the British Museum(we had also covered it on these pages).

The U.K. (and this is the most interesting news) informed the Secretariat of its proposal to arrange a formal meeting between the Greek Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, and the Minister of the U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Lord Parkinson, which they hope will receive a positive response from the Greek authorities. In this regard, Greece informed the Secretariat that the UK’s proposal was sent to the Greek Minister of Culture on April 29, 2022, was immediately accepted, and that a meeting between the parties is being arranged. So there could be new, interesting developments.

Pictured: the Parthenon pediment sculptures, east side, preserved at the British Museum. Ph. Credit Andrew Dunn

There will be a formal meeting between the UK and Greece to discuss the Parthenon marbles

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