Cambodia has refrained from resorting to litigation to assert its claims for restitution, choosing instead to prioritize negotiations with museums and collectors. However, the restitution team has been ready for litigation if necessary.
The return of many of Cambodia’s antiquities serves as a powerful tool for opening communication channels, facilitating cultural exchanges, and building alliances.
The visibility and credibility of Cambodia’s campaign have led to an unexpected development: a growing wave of private collectors have begun contacting the Cambodian government to make returns.
The authors map the removal of antiquities by French Explorers and Administrators during the French colonial era and in the period it was a French Protectorate and Member of French Indochina and alsop that after independence and during and after the Khmer Roiuge genocide.
But the evidentiary burden remains a significant challenge for Cambodia’s restitution campaign.
Many records are held by museums and collectors, which at times are unwilling to disclose, share, or provide fulsome records, leaving Cambodia to conduct much of the provenance research independently.
