Nairobi office missions

The office helps States to inventory their collections, secure their storerooms and document their archaeological sites. A precise inventory is the best defence: without a description or a photograph, it is almost impossible to prove that an object has been stolen.

It provides record templates, trains teams in their use and links national inventories to the BIOP databases.

When a State requests the return of an item, the office helps it build the file: proof of ownership, export documents, expert reports. It facilitates dialogue with the current holders, whether collectors, museums or auction houses.

It relies on the restitution agreements concluded between Member States, and reports to the competent commission.

National focal points find in Nairobi a relay for their legal and technical questions. The team helps them to transpose the OIMAP Guidelines 2019, to prepare their contribution and to take part in the work of the General Assembly.

It also encourages exchanges between neighbouring States: a successful experience in one country can inspire its partners.

Customs officers, police officers and site guardians are the first witnesses of trafficking. With the OIMAP Academy, the office organises workshops on recognising objects, reading documents and managing seizures.

These training sessions take place in the States, as close as possible to the staff, and end with the handing over of a checklist adapted to national circumstances.

The communities that created or preserved the objects hold knowledge that neither documents nor catalogues can replace. The office organises consultations to gather their views before certain conservation or return decisions.

This approach helps ensure that restitutions and protection actions are understood and accepted locally.