Morocco Thwarts Algeria’s Attempt to Claim Its Cultural Heritage at UNESCO Meeting

During a recent meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, Algeria attempted to appropriate Moroccan intangible heritage, but it failed. Thanks to the collective mobilization of Moroccans and the synergy between the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and civil society, this malicious initiative was successfully thwarted, said Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd. With evidence in hand, the Moroccan delegation managed to convince the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It accepted Morocco’s protest and decided to remove the image of the Moroccan caftan from the Algerian file.

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The minister pointed out that the inclusion of the image of the Moroccan caftan in a file of a foreign country constitutes a flagrant violation of the spirit and objectives of the 2003 UNESCO convention, dedicated to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. He deplores that Algeria has tried to exploit this convention for the purposes of cultural appropriation or political instrumentalization. "This issue must not be instrumentalized in the context of political one-upmanship or strategic maneuvers between the majority and the opposition. This is a national issue that we firmly defend from all our positions," Bensaïd reaffirmed.

For the minister, it is time to collectively develop an advocacy strategy within international parliamentary bodies to defend Moroccan cultural heritage against any form of usurpation. "Moroccans, both inside and outside the national borders, are mobilizing daily to protect their cultural heritage and expressly fear the actions of some," the minister said. And he added: "this struggle is a collective fight and that, even after leaving the government, we will continue to resist those who seek to steal or appropriate our heritage".