Operation partners

The OMD brings together customs administrations. Under the cooperation agreement with OIMAP, it relays alerts to control services, shares its risk analyses and takes part in training officers. Customs officers are often the first to intercept a suspect object.

The agreement provides for data exchange under a secure protocol, joint exercises and identified contacts in each administration.

Interpol facilitates cooperation between police forces and manages databases on stolen works. The partnership with OIMAP aims to link the BIOP registry with these databases, so that a work reported in one is known in the other.

Liaison officers take part in operations when a criminal investigation is opened. The agreement sets out the rules for the protection of personal data.

UNESCO is the guardian of the 1970 Convention on illicit transfers of cultural property. OIMAP works with it on awareness-raising, legal support for States and the protection of sites. The two organizations run joint training sessions.

The reference legal framework is completed by the 1954 Hague Protocol and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention, whose application OIMAP promotes.

The International Council of Museums provides the expertise of curators. It helps identify seized objects, publishes red lists of objects at risk and takes part in returns. Its code of ethics inspires OIMAP's rules for museum acquisitions.

ICOM experts can be called upon to examine an object within twenty-four to seventy-two hours of a seizure.

Each agreement specifies the objectives, contacts, data exchange, confidentiality, funding and revision arrangements. It is reviewed every three years. A coordination committee, meeting twice a year, assesses implementation and proposes changes.

New partners may be brought in on the proposal of a Member State, after the opinion of the Council and examination of the ethical safeguards.