What is the role of the Interpol General Secretariat in countering the traffic in cultural property?
Since 1947, Interpol has put considerable effort into countering the traffic in cultural property. The role of the General Secretariat is to: • Centralize information: information sent to the General Secretariat is analysed and entered in the ‘Works of Art’ database. Our role is to give added value to information received. • Transmit information received to member countries and official partners as rapidly as possible • Develop the tools to enable member countries to counter the traffic in cultural property effectively • Organize international conferences, either in Lyon or in member countries. The most recent meetings were held in Lyon in May 2003 and October 2002, and in Brijuni, Croatia, in June 2001. • Organize training courses on countering the traffic in cultural property (e.g. Bogotá, Colombia, November 2002 and Santiago, Chile, March 2004). • Maintain a close working relationship with the international organizations involved in countering the traffic in cultural property (i.e.
