Türkiye has been announced as a committee member on the illicit trafficking of cultural property.

The committee serves as the executive body of UNESCO's 1970 Convention, Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Türkiye's membership in the committee, which aims to promote the protection of cultural assets and repatriation, will last four years.

Türkiye previously recovered many cultural assets that were smuggled out of Anatolia through successful operations.

The membership elections took place at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, with the participation of 145 countries, also parties to the convention. The presented draft, which focuses on empowering UNESCO to prevent and block social media posts that encourage the smuggling and destruction of cultural assets, was accepted by many countries that are members of the committee.

Yahya Coşkun, deputy director general of Cultural Heritage and Museums, stated that the 1970 UNESCO Convention is the most important legal text in preventing the smuggling and destruction of cultural assets. Coşkun said: "The persistent efforts that Türkiye has been carrying out for many years are yielding results both domestically and internationally. In this sense, the experience we have gained leads us to collaborate with all countries and mobilize new opportunities together with them. This decision was realized thanks to Türkiye's leadership and many countries' support. It was an exceptional and important work for all origin countries that have suffered from the smuggling of cultural assets in all countries that are parties to this convention, not only for us."

Coşkun emphasized that they are conducting necessary domestic and international studies using all available means to prevent the smuggling and destruction of cultural assets.

"The persistent efforts that Türkiye has been carrying out for many years are yielding results both domestically and internationally. In this sense, the experience we have gained leads us to collaborate with all countries and mobilize new opportunities together with them. This decision was realized thanks to the leadership of Türkiye and the support of many countries. It was an exceptional and important work for all origin countries that have suffered from the smuggling of cultural assets in all countries that are parties to this convention, not only for us," he added.

"While carrying out these studies, we are taking the lead and working innovatively to address the grievances of all origin countries, using new opportunities. We have prepared a draft decision that authorizes UNESCO to work on preventing the destruction of cultural assets, prohibiting and discouraging smuggling, particularly on popular social media platforms used worldwide. We have entrusted UNESCO with this matter in collaboration with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. UNESCO will negotiate with the managers and stakeholders of all social media platforms worldwide to prevent the smuggling and destruction of cultural assets. With this initiative, we are taking the lead in a major endeavor for all origin countries and victims," he added.