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restitutions

Restitution of a cultural artifact from Finland to Benin. Photo: Mari-Leena Talvitie, Finnish Minister of Science and Culture, hands over a royal stool formerly looted by France to Benin's Minister of Tourism and Culture, Jean-Michel Abimbola.
Benin: the faint breath of restitutions
20 May 2025 by Rachida Houssou
Looted by the French, returned by Finland, a Kataklè, a three-legged royal stool used for the coronation of Beninese kings, was discreetly returned last week to Benin, where questions are being raised about the State’s policy on the return and exposure of such artefacts.
Restitution of stolen gold royal artefacts to Ghana’s Asante king. Ghana’s looted Asante gold comes home – what’s the deal?
9 February 2024 by Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann
After 150 years, 39 artefacts that form part of Asante’s royal regalia are due to return to the Asantehene – the ruler of the Asante people – in Kumasi, Ghana, in February and April this year. Archaeologist and Ghana heritage spec [...]
Colonialism and decolonization in Switzerland - Hans Himmelheber poses near his mask collection. Switzerland: the art of decolonizing a country without colonies
21 July 2023 by Letizia Gaja Pinoja
Why does Switzerland, a country that never had any colonies, hold objects inherited from violent conquest? And how are this country and its museums becoming aware, through participation in restitution of cultural property, of thei [...]
Reparation for colonial crimes - Emmanuel Macron in Burkina Faso Colonial crimes: the reparations movement stalls in Europe
11 April 2023 by Julia Crawford
The wave of restitutions expected after French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 promise to return stolen art to Africa has hit legal and political roadblocks. But while former colonial powers are shying away, it seems “New World” [...]
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Restitution to Benin - Restituted statue finally packed in a box
7 April 2023 by Rachida Houssou
Why treasures returned to Benin are still in boxes The November 2021 restitution of 26 art works stolen by French colonists from the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, was celebrated as a model. But these treasures that Benin’s people should finally be able to admire again [...]
Felix Tshisekedi and Denis Sassou Nguesso (foreground) attend the funeral ceremony of Patrice Lumumba (large portrait in background).
11 July 2022 by Caleb Kazadi
Lumumba's tooth is returned, while still waiting for truth Patrice Emery Lumumba, "father of Congolese independence", was finally buried on June 30 in Kinshasa 61 years after his assassination- This came after former colonial power Belgium returned his tooth ten days earlier. But while th [...]
Drawing of Massamba Gueye
7 March 2022 by Franck Petit
Massamba Gueye: “We need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on restitutions between Africa and Europe” JUSTICE INFO IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS Massamba Gueye Director of the Kër Leyti House of Orality and Heritage "I have no master," claims storyteller and teacher Massamba Gueye. He is proud to be part of a generation that went to univers [...]
Harouna Daouda Dia is interviewed at his home by 2 people
17 February 2022 by Franck Petit
Restitutions to Senegal: "We must consult the people" In Senegal, a Fulani violinist is restoring the identity to an instrument collected 175 years ago by abolitionist Victor Schœlcher. The instrument is part of the Cité de la Musique collections in Paris, but this violinist reveals [...]
laboratoire deberlinisation
15 February 2022 by Franck Petit
Restitutions: Senegal takes the African Union ‘lead’ "The restitution of our stolen heritage will remain at the heart of our agenda," said Senegal's president on Saturday, February 5, as he took the helm of the African Union. Senegal, along with others such as Algeria and Egypt, is [...]
A cargo plane unloads the royal treasures at Cotonou airport (Benin)
12 November 2021 by Rachida Houssou
Benin celebrates return of stolen heritage 130 years on It is done! On November 10, Benin received 12 boxes containing 26 royal treasures stolen by colonial France. This was a historic day when Beninese people turned out to celebrate the return of these works after 130 years away from [...]
Banknote (dated 1920) of one Belgian Franc on which is written
2 November 2021 by Gaëlle Ponselet
Colonial crimes: Experts recommend that Belgium compensate "Monetary payment of a colonial debt, in light of Belgium's moral responsibility". This is one of the strong recommendations in an expert report published on October 27. For a year, ten historians, jurists and political scientists [...]
Exterior view of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin
11 October 2021 by Hannah El-Hitami
A castle full of stolen goods Germany is the first country in Europe to announce the return of its share of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria by 2022. Thousands of these art pieces were looted by the British in the late 19th century. But while negotiations about the pr [...]
A visitor to the Quai Branly Museum observes 3 statues from the royal treasures of Abomey.
1 October 2021 by Sètondji Roland Adjovi
Colonial crimes: Cultural property should be returned unconditionally Cultural property stolen from Africa by deception, coercion, or looting must be fully and unconditionally returned. This is the only valid reparation and a prerequisite for other negotiations to take place, writes Beninese jurist [...]
Bronze of Oba, a king of Benin
31 August 2021 by The Conversation France
Restitution of the 'Benin Bronzes': "All of the global North are implicated" A few months ago, Germany announced that it would return hundreds of priceless art objects looted during the colonial era, commonly known as 'Benin bronzes', to Nigeria. Professor Jürgen Zimmerer, a specialist in German colonial h [...]
3D aerial view of the future musuem of Abomey, in Benin
23 July 2021 by Rachida Houssou
Colonial crimes: Benin prepares for the return of its cultural heritage Five years after its official request for the restitution of its cultural heritage to France, Benin is getting closer to its goal. The return of 26 works looted during the colonial era has been set for 30 October. All the infrastr [...]
Colonial Crimes: World map of justice initiatives
17 June 2021 by Clémentine Méténier
Colonial Crimes: World map of justice initiatives The colonial past is back in the spotlight in many countries, from New Zealand to France, Canada to Germany, or Sweden to the Netherlands. Official apologies, demands for reparations and restitution of cultural heritage, truth com [...]
Colonial crimes: a chess game to negotiate reparations, restitution, truth and the duty to remember
1 June 2021 by Justice Info
Hour of reckoning for colonial crimes The colonial past has come back into the spotlight. Descendants of the colonized are demanding reparations. Former colonial powers, as if suddenly waking up, under pressure from changing power relations, are finally showing some w [...]