The Dutch daily de Volkskrant mentions ‘strong differences of opinion’ with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science about these concrete results. It says through a spokesperson that there is currently no question of a restitution request from Ghana. Te catalogue with 2,000 objects handed over in Ghana, is the first step of a restitution procedure. The next step is the formulation of a claim by Ghana.
Below are excerpts of what Dutch Ambassador Jeroen Verheul said at the occasion in Accra:
- ‘Since 2022, the Netherlands’ government has adopted a policy that enables the return of culturally significant objects, that were unlawfully taken from other territories in a colonial context. The government considers such returns part and parcel of a much needed process of addressing historical injustices.
- ‘Our policy is demand-driven: the process begins when a country requests the return of an object that it considers its own. We regard it as our duty to make our collections transparent, through digitalisation and publication, including available provenance information. Joint provenance research can be initiated in cases where there is uncertainty on how the object came into Netherlands’ possession.
- ‘An independent advisory committee, working closely with experts from the country of origin, assesses requests on the basis of provenance research.
- ‘The Dutch government finally decides on return. If the advice is positive, the object is returned unconditionally, in collaboration with the country of origin. After return, that country takes responsibility for the object and decides where it belongs.
- ‘To strengthen ties between European and African museums, the EU-African Museum Partnership was launched in Addis-Abeba on 29 April, bringing together African and European museums that want to work more closely on these issues. The Netherlands is proud to be a co-donor, alongside France, Germany, and Belgium.
- ‘Here in Ghana, we have started discussions with the Honourable Minister for Culture and with Professor Kodzo Gavua and his National Focal Team on the restitution of stolen cultural heritage.
- ‘As mentioned, the first step is to show which objects in Dutch collections are likely linked to Ghana.’
