The Bureau expressed its appreciation for the report of the Secretariat and for the continued efforts of UNESCO in mobilising international co-operation for the protection, preservation and presentation of the site of Angkor, especially through the International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of Angkor.
The Bureau, however, requested UNESCO to continue its work in the strengthening of training activities for local and national capacity-building, especially in measures prohibiting and preventing the illicit traffic of cultural property. In this regard, and alarmed by press reports on the alleged pillage of cultural property from sites of national importance, the Bureau requested the State Party to submit a report to the twenty-second session of the Committee. This report should summarise the steps taken in the preparation of a national inventory of cultural properties and on legal and regulatory measures adopted by the Government in the protection of cultural property in Angkor and in other sites on the Tentative List.
The Bureau underlined the serious need to address illicit traffic of cultural property, not only at a national level but also at an international level. To this end, the Bureau encouraged UNESCO Member States to ratify existing legal instruments for preventing illicit traffic of cultural properties, such as the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970 and the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects 1995.