Cabinet approves Committee to recover Sri Lankan cultural artefacts held overseas

The Cabinet has approved the appointment of a special committee to facilitate the return of Sri Lankan cultural heritage and artefacts currently held overseas, including objects taken from the country during the colonial period.

The committee, titled the “Committee for the Restitution of Sri Lankan Cultural Heritage Currently Held Overseas,” will advise the Government on efforts to recover cultural objects taken out of Sri Lanka.

It will be headed by the Additional Secretary (Cultural Promotion and Foreign Affairs) of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.

The move follows earlier efforts to recover Sri Lankan cultural objects from overseas institutions. In 2023, six cultural objects held by the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands were officially returned to Sri Lanka as the first phase of the restitution process.

The returned objects included Lewke Disawa’s cannon, two large guns, two kastane swords with scabbards and a knife with a sheath.

The Government said the new committee will also facilitate continued direct discussions with the relevant Dutch committee on the restitution process.

The initiative is being pursued in line with provisions of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which provides mechanisms for states to seek the return of cultural property.

The Cabinet approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. (Newswire)

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