The office pointed out on its website that as a first step in the direction of repairing the damage caused by colonialism, the former colonists must stop hindering the return of tangible elements that are evidence of human evolution to their countries of origin.

The institution recalled that at the 6th Summit of the European Union-African Union, the heads of State and Governments of the Member States committed to restituting cultural property and promoting access to and protection of the cultural heritage of the former colonies.

The ARC pointed out that, on the sidelines of the meeting, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo handed over to his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of the Congo some 84,000 objects of Congolese origin currently present in the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren.

On February 21, 2022, on the occasion of the return of two “Benin Bronzes”, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari appealed to nations, institutions, and entities, both private and public, to return the artifacts Nigerians in their possession.

The ARC added that the Belgian House of Representatives approved on July 3, 2022, a law that recognizes the alienable nature of assets linked to the colonial past of the Belgian State and establishes a legal framework for their restitution and return, thus paving the way to the definitive restitution of all the treasures looted during the colonial period.

Colonialism Reparation called for the repatriation of the remains and the definitive restitution of the treasures stolen by colonizers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and others, to the looted countries, as a first step in the direction of repairing the damages of colonialism.

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