This project is funded by the European Union

November 2020

Culture in ruins The illegal trade in cultural property Case study: Mali

Julia Stanyard and Rim Dhaouadi

Summary

This case study forms part of a set of publications on the illegal trade in cultural property across North and West Africa, made up of a research paper and three case studies (on Mali, Nigeria, and North Africa). The study aims to describe how the breakdown of security has shaped the long-standing dynamics of illicit trade in Malian cultural objects. The research is focused on the northern and central regions of Mali where archaeological looting is most intense. Key findings

• In the early 1980s, large-scale trade in cultural objects from all regions emerged, driven by international demand and drought-related economic hardship in the archaeologically rich regions. • In recent years, the looting of archaeological sites has again increased dramatically as economic pressure on communities in conflict-affected regions has risen. • The key areas for looting are around Djenné, Mopti, Timbuktu and Gao. • Regional middlemen have historically controlled and financed teams of looters. The current economic pressures and breakdown of state structures have introduced new groups of looters while at the same time entrenching the established regional middlemen. • Bamako is still a major centre for illegal trade but other routes across Mali’s porous land borders are being increasingly used. CASE STUDY CASE Introduction A broad range of actors was interviewed including:

Situated at the confluence of ancient trade routes • People involved in illegal trading crossing the Sahara and at the centre of major medieval • Members of Malian cultural institutions civilisations, modern Mali is home to an inestimable • Law enforcement members cultural, archaeological and historical wealth.1 However, • Members of the military this heritage is threatened by destruction from both • European-based antiquities dealers engaged in armed groups and illegal trade. trading Malian cultural objects

During the 2012–2013 crisis when the northern regions of the country were occupied by jihadist insurgents, Legal and institutional context cultural sites and artefacts became the focus of targeted, Since 1985, Mali has developed an arsenal of ideologically-based destruction.2 These sites and legislation to fight illicit trade in cultural property.8 artefacts included medieval manuscripts in Timbuktu, Among other things, this legislation controls the numerous mausoleums, sites in Gao such as the Tomb export and trade in cultural property,9 regulates of Askia and monuments in the Pays Dogon region. archaeological excavations and aims to promote Several thousand of the famed medieval manuscripts and protect Mali’s cultural heritage.10 of Timbuktu were burned while thousands more were Under this legislation, it is illegal to export any rescued by much-lauded ‘smuggling’ operations that cultural object without a licence for that specific covertly brought collections to Bamako under the object granted by the National Museum in Bamako. tutelage of preservation organisations.3 The licence will either authorise that the object is a modern copy (and hence legal to export) or The 2016 prosecution in the International Criminal that it is to be temporarily exhibited abroad. The Court of former Ansar Dine militant Ahmad al-Faqi licences are co-signed by the Direction Nationale du al-Mahdi for crimes of cultural destruction in Timbuktu Patrimoine Culturel (DNPC) to ensure transparency was the first case of its kind.4 Military and civil authorities and accountability in the system.11 in Mali,5 along with international organisations such as Mali and the United States (US) have a bilateral the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural agreement that prohibits the importation of Malian Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Council objects to the US without an export licence.12 of Museums (ICOM),6 have stressed that the ongoing conflict and civil strife in Mali have led to a surge in the Mali’s cultural heritage and the fight against illicit trafficking are managed by the DNPC, the National looting of cultural heritage sites.7 Museum of Mali and Cultural Missions located in 13 Illegal trade in Malian cultural heritage encompasses important cultural regions across the country. These institutions are responsible for: both archaeological and ethnographic objects. These include the Djenné terracotta figurines (excavated from • Safeguarding national cultural collections archaeological sites in the Niger River Valley, especially • Engaging with communities in cultural areas on the harm and illegality of trading in antiquities around Djenné), Timbuktu manuscripts, bronze • Collaborating with the Ministry of Culture, sculptures and jewellery, ancient beads and the highly national and international law enforcement, the valued wooden sculptures of the Pays Dogon region. military police and customs on investigations into illicit trafficking14 This case study aims to describe how the breakdown of security has shaped and altered the long-standing The national institutions also engage with dynamics of illicit trade in Malian cultural property. international bodies such as ICOM to promote Interviews were conducted in Bamako in June 2019. international awareness of illicit trafficking and These were followed by remote interviews with other collaborate with UNESCO on projects such as engaging with local communities. Until interviewees both in Bamako and in the northern and September 2018, the protection of cultural sites central regions of Mali where archaeological looting is was also within the mandate of the United Nations most intense but to which travel is currently restricted Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission due to the conflict. Interviews were also conducted with in Mali (MINUSMA) and its activities included the European-based antiquities dealers engaged in trading protection of cultural sites in the region of Gao.15 Malian cultural objects.

2 Culture in ruins: The illegal trade in cultural property, Mali Historical development: a long- Powerful dealers, able to command the more localised standing illegal market dealers on behalf of established international clients, including art collectors and dealers, based themselves The modern looting of Malian cultural objects in Bamako.22 So too did traders dealing in less has its roots in the exploitative and violent rarefied archaeological artefacts, who would offer acquisition of objects during the colonial period, these alongside other legal wares, catering to a more which subsequently shaped tastes and practices opportunistic expatriate and tourist market passing through the hub of Bamako. These traders would use in international art markets. Post-independence, individuals within the tourist industry as intermediaries archaeological excavation work and publications between the customer base and those offering illustrating the Djenné terracottas in the late 1970s archaeological objects for sale.23 helped to bring the ancient empires of Mali and their associated forms of figurative art into the The primary destinations, particularly for terracotta international spotlight.16 objects, were repeatedly emphasised by interviewees as being Europe (in particular France and Belgium) Observers described the emergence of a burgeoning and the US. This historical trend is well documented trade in objects from all regions during the early and was confirmed confirmed in interviews with both 1980s, spurred both by international demand and Malian and internationally-based archaeologists,24 through drought-related economic hardship in museum officials in Mali, dealers within the Malian 17 archaeologically rich regions. It was during this art market and European-based dealers. These period that an increasingly sophisticated and large- interviewees verified that a large proportion of material scale trade in archaeological material emerged. Local on Western antiquities markets emerged during the antiquities dealers began to recruit and employ large late 1980s and early 1990s.25 teams of looters for individual sites, predominantly Controversies have emerged over the past decades local farmers and residents of villages near the around key individuals, collectors and museums over archaeological sites.18 exhibiting objects that appear to have been looted during this period.26 The emergence of a thriving market Archaeological excavation in looted archaeological material caused alarm among archaeologists and the heritage sector both within Mali brought the ancient empires and internationally.27 of Mali and their art into the The emergence of a thriving international spotlight market in looted archaeological

The Belgian journalist Michel Brent conducted material has caused alarm extensive investigative work on the looting of Malian heritage. He estimated that as the market Heritage preservation initiatives were introduced grew, more than a thousand local looters were within the country, including the establishment of the employed within a hundred-mile radius of the Mission Culturelle de Djenné and efforts to sensitise town of Mopti, which served as a central waypoint local populations to the importance of preserving in the movement of archaeological goods towards archaeological heritage through, for example, radio 19 Bamako. This was corroborated by interviewees campaigns.28 The consensus among the archaeologists 20 with experience in the market at this time. and museum staff interviewed is that these initiatives Alongside professionalised dealers and looting produced tangible results, with decreased looting teams, a wider spectrum of participants existed observed and reported throughout and beyond the in the market, including those looting on a more 2000s.29 International awareness-raising initiatives on opportunistic basis and those trading chance the issue led to the establishment of the first US-Mali archaeological finds to dealers.21 bilateral agreement.30

November 2020 3 The contemporary market activity on key sites.35 By contrast, more stable regions outside of the central Djenné-Mopti looting zone have been less affected. For example, the area around Intensified looting at the source Kangaba has only suffered damage to an estimated 36 In recent years, Malian archaeologists and cultural 10% of sites. institutions have again raised concerns with the The absence of effective, or even any, functioning state international community on the damage being done structures allows looting parties and illegal antiquities 31 to the country’s heritage. The looting of archaeological dealers to operate with greater impunity and limits sites has increased dramatically, concentrated in key any proactive practices of site preservation, monitoring areas around Djenné, Mopti, Timbuktu and the area and community outreach undertaken by cultural 32 around Gao (as seen in Figure 1). As insecurity has risen institutions. in the central region of the country, so too has the most intensive looting activity. Djenné and the surrounding Massive economic pressure on communities in conflict- area were identified as the worst affected.33 affected regions has increased the incentive to loot as a livelihood. Looting parties consist of local farmers, The regions marked in Figure 1 illustrate sites reported as those previously involved in tourism-related work who definitively looted since the outbreak of the 2012 conflict, are in search of alternative livelihoods,37 and individuals 34 providing some detail of how looting has developed. who once participated as labourers in legitimate This information is not an exhaustive or scientific sample, archaeological excavations and therefore have some as the absence of state institutions or administrative requisite knowledge of finding archaeological sites.38 presence in certain areas precludes looting activity in those areas being known to authorities. Looting from Some external observers questioned whether the sites previously unexplored or mapped by legitimate illicit trade could thrive in a context of violence and archaeological excavations is also not known. insecurity. They doubted that the movement of archaeological goods and the coordination of looting teams in the field could take place during the increased Figure 1: Map of key cross-border flows risk of violence in these regions.

N Figure 2: Ancient, rare manuscripts looted from Timbuktu and retrieved at Al Khalil, close to the 0 175 ALGERIA km Algerian border

MAURITANIA

by air (to Europe)

Timbuktu Gao

Mopti Badiangara NIGER

Banamba Djenné

BAMAKO Koulikoro

Bougouni Sikasso BURKINA FASO GUINEA © S Ballard (2020)

Representatives from cultural institutions and archaeologists agreed that between 80–90% of sites within key regions have been looted, with recent activity exacerbating the damage caused by decades of illicit Source: Malian Ministry of Culture

4 Culture in ruins: The illegal trade in cultural property, Mali However, according to members of the military and spans an average of 6 months of the year and this heritage professionals who were interviewed, the particular interviewee estimated that, within this time, established, ‘well-organised’ networks of looters have he may cover 12 to 15 individual sites, using different profited from protection by local powerbrokers.39 It local teams at different sites and obtaining objects was suggested that jihadist forces occupying key sites from other sources not directly controlled and financed in the northern regions may also have profited from by the dealer. This arrangement was described as illicit excavations due to their localised and temporary representative of prominent dealers operating along position of power.40 However, determining precisely similar lines. what form this connection took proved difficult. Interviewees described how multiple teams controlled by different middlemen often operate at the same The entrenchment of the role of the newly-discovered or object-rich sites, which, according regional middleman to one interviewee, are ‘shared’ rather than contested.42

While economic hardship and the breakdown of state The ‘power’ associated with these dealers was described structures have introduced new groups of looters to primarily in terms of both financial resources and the illicit trade, the same pressures have, conversely, contacts within consumer markets, rather than (for entrenched the control of the established regional example) power to enforce control within the illegal middlemen who have historically controlled and market through the use of force.43 However, a team of financed teams of looters.41 looters around Djenné (currently the most intensively looted region) had reportedly recently armed These individuals are widely described as playing an themselves at the time of the fieldwork in June 2019. increasingly prominent and powerful role within the This is both for protection and as a threat against the market. They possess the means to finance excavations intervention of local communities opposed to looting and have contacts both locally at the archaeological sites and authorities aiming to intervene, such as the Cultural and downstream with dealers in Bamako or directly with Mission at Djenné.44 This was seen as an ominous new international markets. The inability of Malian-based dealers development, posing a direct threat to officials working from outside the affected regions as well as international on cultural heritage. buyers to travel easily to the sites themselves means that local actors have become the key conduit through which the objects are transported to final consumers. Bamako: a tale of two markets

The antiquities market in Bamako has been profoundly shaped by the collapse of the tourist industry and Looting by individuals has readily available and secure travel between Bamako and become the norm and the source regions. local market has become more The decline in international visitors has taken away a significant portion of the traditional customer base professionalised for antiquities, particularly in the case of casual buyers of the less valuable cultural goods. Several lower-level dealers interviewed in Bamako described the market as Archaeologists working on post-looting recovery dead.45 One dealer – after showing the research team missions reported that dealer-controlled excavation several examples of small terracotta heads and ancient teams (rather than ad-hoc looting by individuals) have pottery – described how he bought them around 5 become the norm and the local market has recently years ago in full confidence that ‘a foreign buyer’ would become more professionalised. soon emerge but that dwindling numbers have stalled this plan.46 One interviewee based in Mopti described how he, for example, employs a three-person looting team However, this does not hold for all Bamako-based to excavate a site for around two weeks. In return for antiquities dealers and several prominent dealerships finding objects, the team receives FCFA7 500 (around in Bamako are currently actively trading in ancient USD12.62) per day plus costs for the duration. Looting material.47 As with the regional middlemen, it is the

November 2020 5 ‘powerful’ players in the market who have weathered Bamako market expressly identified key figures within the storm of insecurity and market turbulence. These this organisation and its leadership as key traders in illicit wealthier dealers have the financial capital to acquire archaeological objects. Representatives of Mali’s cultural the high-value objects that still attract buyers in a authorities voiced long-standing animosity with the constrained market. These dealers also have secure association and historical concerns about the criminality connections to both regional sources of objects of some members, in particular those perceived to be and international buyers, invariably described by ‘more powerful.’50 interviewees as art dealers and collectors.48 Resistance from the association to attempts by Dealers interviewed emphasised the role of contacts, the National Museum to make trading in cultural insisting that it is the direct relationship with key buyers, objects more transparent, for example, through particularly those buying commercially for dealerships reforming the export licensing system of legally- overseas, which makes the difference between success tradeable objects, was seen as evidence that and failure. While these dealers may not be able to its members are aiming to subvert and avoid 51 command the same high prices that they do during restrictions on illicit trade. boom periods, this trade is still profitable. Diverse routes These dealers operate in private settings rather than the open market, conducting transactions with known, Bamako is still evidently a major centre for illegal trade long-standing customers. Dealers described how with objects transported through corrupt connections information about and pictures of objects on offer are via Bamako airport.52 But other routes across Mali’s shared through private online communication channels, highly porous land borders in several directions are particularly WhatsApp. This is a way to elicit interest being regularly, and increasingly, used. and maintain relationships with key buyers. It allows It is difficult to establish detailed information about both dealers and buyers to operate remotely with some these routes, including which groups are transporting dealers reportedly also acting as couriers, transporting objects and the onward movements of objects once in objects directly to international customers.49 neighbouring countries. Their use differs significantly from the more traditional market-based arrangements Figure 3: Glass beads excavated at Gao Sanèye centred in Bamako, whereby the illegal trade in objects is more commonly intermingled with legal trade in similar goods rather than other forms of illicit trade.53

Mauritania, Algeria, Niger and Burkina Faso serve as transit markets for objects being transported to final destinations.54 Reportedly, obtaining export permits from neighbouring countries is a key factor in facilitating the transport of these objects and sale to final destination markets.55 Export permits are either acquired corruptly or without any problems because the export of foreign archaeological material is not prohibited under these countries’ regulations.

These overland routes have become more prevalent

Source : Malian Ministry of Culture where conflict has curtailed direct trade to Bamako. The illicit trade in objects occurs in tandem with other forms Multiple sources – both heritage professionals and from of trade, both licit and illicit, along these routes through within the market – reported that leading figures within geographically challenging and largely ungoverned the Bamako-based association of antiquities dealers areas. Interviews with law enforcement and military participate in illicit trade. The association is a legitimate representatives confirmed that objects intercepted organisation of dealers in contemporary, legally along northerly smuggling routes – beyond Timbuktu tradeable cultural objects. However, dealers within the and across vast desert regions towards Algeria, Libya

6 Culture in ruins: The illegal trade in cultural property, Mali and Mauritania – are ‘usually’ transported as part of communities. However, as traditional cultural practices combined shipments of other illegal goods. These goods have lapsed among communities that have converted include arms and drugs and are shipped by the major to Christianity and Islam, these objects have increasingly smuggling groups operating in the region.56 been voluntarily sold to dealers or stolen for the international market.62 Sacred items have also been the The use of various overland and air routes is also governed target of thefts for the international market.63 by practicalities, such as the proximity of source areas to porous land borders and the presence of cross-border transit hubs that lie within easier reach than Bamako. Sacred items have been Diverse markets for diverse object types the target of thefts for the

Transit routes are also governed by the object types international market themselves, with significant diversity in the demand and destination markets for particular object types. This was disputed by interviewees from European art Terracottas, bronzes and a range of other markets, who voiced scepticism that large volumes archaeological goods of ethnographic objects are currently being exported from Mali. These interviewees believed that all the The client base that the powerful dealers in Bamako ‘best’ objects were removed during the colonial cater to is reportedly almost exclusively European, with period or in the mid-late 20th century, when practices the dominant nationalities being French, German, in international art markets were less restricted, and 57 Swiss and, to a lesser extent, Belgian. European buyers that the majority of objects currently exported are purchase a range of archaeological objects, including recent fakes.64 bronze sculptures and jewellery, terracottas and pottery, and Neolithic-era jars.58 Ancient beads

These buyers were generally described as ‘professional’ Ancient glass and stone beads, commonly associated dealers and serious collectors who were active in with burials at sites around Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu, the pre-crisis market and are dedicated enough to are a prominent feature of the current illegal trade.65 continue sourcing objects under more constrained Unlike the market for other archaeological items, circumstances. According to interviewees in the market beads are destined for consumer markets within the in Bamako, buyers include those travelling to Bamako local Sahel region. They are highly valued as collectors’ and transit countries bordering Mali,59 as well as those items and as jewellery for women of Maure, Tuareg buying remotely, for whom Malian-based dealers act as and Arab ethnic groups in Mali itself and neighbouring middlemen and couriers. countries, including Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria.66 Archaeologists working on the recovery of looted sites Interviewees were generally of the view that the US- have reported groups of women arriving at clandestine Mali bilateral treaty has been effective in quashing US digs to purchase these items.67 demand for illegally-exported Malian objects. European buyers are however still active in the market for a range Demand for these beads has reportedly grown of archaeological goods. For example, a Dutch diplomat significantly in recent years and dealer-led looting was recently prevented from exporting Neolithic-era teams target sites specifically to excavate beads. In 60 jars from Timbuktu, and, in 2017, a German dealer some cases, dealers specialise in bead trading to the attempted to buy a Malian bronze statuette offered for exclusion of other items. One Mopti-based interviewee sale in a neighbouring country.61 reported that his team had excavated over 2 000 individual beads during the 2014–2015 period.68 Traders Ethnographic and wooden objects from neighbouring countries have also reportedly Wooden objects – such as wooden masks and statues travelled to sites around Gao, Timbuktu and Mopti – used for traditional cultural and religious practices, to purchase beads that have been looted for their have customarily been preserved within families and domestic markets.69

November 2020 7 Medieval manuscripts While investigations are ongoing, none of the trafficked manuscripts have been successfully seized and The 2012–2013 crisis in Mali, including the jihadist repatriated.77 occupation of Timbuktu and its aftermath, brought about a surge in the trafficking of Timbuktu’s famed The emergence of an Asian-based market medieval manuscripts. Another notable development in reports from Families displaced as refugees from northern Mali dealers and law enforcement is the small but reportedly transported privately-owned manuscripts identifiable emergence of an Asian-based market for with them as their primary repository of moveable family Malian objects within the last few years. Chinese and, wealth.70 This confirms the reports of the development of to a lesser extent, Japanese buyers were mentioned in connection with ethnographic works, terracottas a black market in manuscripts brought over the border and other archaeological items.78 Dealers stressed into Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria by migrants.71 that Asian-based buyers are far more infrequent than Jihadist groups also reportedly took advantage of the European and American buyers but this may signify illicit market as a source of revenue. However, the scale the beginning of an entirely new consumer market of this illicit trade in terms of volume of manuscripts and for these object types. individuals involved is unclear.72

According to interviewees in law enforcement, the The institutional response manuscripts have reportedly been acquired by collectors within Morocco as a means of ‘rescuing’ them from the The National Museum, the Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel (DNPC) and the regional black market and preserving them.73 Some manuscripts cultural missions are Mali’s cultural institutions. They have been trafficked internationally to the Gulf, Turkey currently operate in the face of insurmountable and Europe for museums and private collections where adversity as they attempt to manage cultural they are prized for their scholarly value.74 heritage in regions of ongoing violence where security and state structures are absent. The resilience and continued efforts of these institutions Some manuscripts have been to protect sites and counter illicit trafficking is a trafficked internationally to the testament to the political priority given to this issue. The protection of cultural heritage has also Gulf, Turkey and Europe been integrated into the military and international response to Mali’s crisis.79

The emphasis on the scholarly value of these texts One of the strategies employed by the cultural institutions is that members of the DNPC and in shaping demand reportedly continues a pre- National Museum conduct post-incident response established market for manuscripts in academic missions to sites where looting has been reported.80 circles. The historic trend of trafficking in manuscripts These missions work in the field – sometimes in differs significantly from the prevailing narrative around regions of active conflict and violence – to assess archaeological objects. what can be salvaged from the site. They engage In the decades preceding the crisis, the illicit export of with local communities, educating them about the 81 manuscripts was reportedly relatively low as they are illegality of looting to help prevent further damage. highly valued and protected within communities.75 According to interviewees from the DNPC, the post- looting missions are led by archaeologists and do However, occasional instances of students and not include law enforcement to avoid alienating the researchers smuggling individual manuscripts out of communities involved. Mali, reportedly via Morocco and predominantly to the US, have been reported.76 The current demand for The regional cultural missions work preventatively manuscripts in the Gulf and Europe stems from the to raise awareness about the harm of looting in same intellectual interest in Islamic scholarship and the the usual course of their mandate. The missions desire to build up private collections. at Timbuktu, Gao, Kidal and Segou were unable

8 Culture in ruins: The illegal trade in cultural property, Mali to fulfil this role during the Malian crisis but have Conclusion recommenced this work as their regions have been brought back under government control. Mali’s cultural heritage and the institutions tasked with protecting it are weathering a storm of conflict Representatives of the cultural institutions have been and looting. The 2012 crisis and its aftermath threatened with violence in the course of their work. in Mali introduced new actors to the looting of There has been an escalation of violence surrounding antiquities and moving objects across borders. The archaeological looting at Djenné and the director of trade has become more professionalised, catering the cultural mission has been threatened by looters to a complex set of destination markets across the who see the cultural mission as an obstacle to their region and the world. illegal activities.82 However, Mali’s cultural institutions, in collaboration The National Museum and DNPC collaborate with with international organisations such as MINUSMA Interpol, MINUSMA and the Malian military to and Interpol, continue to respond proactively to this conduct training of security personnel.83 According complex threat in a context of constrained state to interviewees from the military, protecting sites capacity and political turbulence. and seizing objects is firmly within the mandate and work of the gendarmerie.84 Interpol has dedicated Recommendations personnel in-country and has ongoing investigations into international trafficking. The National Museum Interviewees in the heritage sector recommended the receives seized objects for identification and following additional steps to counter the illicit trafficking safekeeping. In the case of the manuscripts, key of antiquities in Mali: non-governmental organisations are responsible for managing and protecting collections.85 • Conducting a more extensive survey of the damage to archaeological sites to provide more up-to- date clarity on which sites are being looted and to The Malian response could what extent. • Continuing outreach programmes to educate be viewed as a model for local communities.88 • Continuing to collaborate with security forces and the the region gendarmerie, especially considering that the military remains the initial point of contact with looters and the illegal trafficking of objects in many areas.89 In the face of a complex threat, some interviewees • On the international level, the bilateral treaty suggested that the Malian response could be viewed as between the US and Mali should serve as a model a model for the region.86 for building future regional and international Corruption within the cultural institutions was not partnerships. It has been recognised as a success,90 cited as a major factor facilitating illicit trade and was both in terms of reducing imports of illegal Malian instead limited to petty corruption at, for example, objects to the US91 and as a basis for bilateral support customs points.87 in protecting Mali’s heritage in situ.92

November 2020 9 Notes

1 See: K Macdonald, Timbuktu under threat, Culture, National Museum interviews; 2016 Emergency ICOM Red List highlighting Malian cultural property World Archaeology, 27 March 2013, www.world- archaeology.com/features/timbuktu-under-threat/; at risk. Saving Antiquities for Everyone, Mali, 2020, https:// 8 Atelier de formation des formateurs à l’attention des savingantiquities.org/a-global-concern/mali/. forces armées et de sécurité sur la Convention de la 2 D Keita, MM Tessougue, Y Fane, Patrimoine culturel Haye de 1954, presentation given by the Ministère de malien saborde au nom d’un islam puritain, Annales la Culture, in collaboration with the Direction Nationale de l’Université Ouaga I Pr Joseph KI-ZERBO, Serie A, du Patrimoine Culturel, 2016, Materials provided by the 25, Decembre 2018. Ministère de la Culture.

3 For a full account of the extraordinary story of the 9 Décret n°299/ PG-RM du 19/09/1986 relatif smuggling of the manuscripts from Timbuktu, see à la règlementation de la prospection, de la C English, The book smugglers of Timbuktu: the quest commercialisation et de l’exportation des biens for the storied city and the race to save its treasures, culturels. Glasgow: William Collins, 2017; A Waberi, L’homme 10 Loi n°85-40 AN-RM du 26 juillet 1985 relative à la qui a sauvé les tresors de Tombouctou, Le Monde protection et à la promotion du patrimoine culturel. Afrique, 26 April 2016, www.lemonde.fr/afrique/ article/2016/04/26/l-homme-qui-a-sauve-les-tresors-de- 11 Salia Male, Atelier de formation des formateurs à tombouctou_4908637_3212.html. l’attention des Forces de Défense et de Sécurité sur la Convention de l’UNESCO de 1954 et autres mesures 4 International Criminal Court, Al Mahdi case, 2018, de protection du patrimoine; Materials provided to the www.icc-cpi.int/mali/al-mahdi. For a discussion of research team by the Ministry of Culture. international engagement in the crisis, see: UNESCO Evaluation Office, Case study: lessons learned from Mali, 12 See: L Schwartz, Antiquities Coalition Policy Note: UNESCO’s role and action to protect and safeguard taking the first step toward ending illegal antiquities cultural heritage and promote cultural pluralism in trafficking, The Antiquities Coalition, 19 March 2019, crisis situations, April 2017, www.unesco.org/new/ http://thinktank.theantiquitiescoalition.org/antiquities- fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/IOS/images/PI_159_Mali_ coalition-policy-note-taking-the-first-step-toward- Case_Study.pdf. ending-illegal-antiquities-trafficking/.

5 See: M Fick, Mali declares archaeological emergency, 13 Kayes, Kangaba, Sikasso, Segou, Djenné, Bandiagara, Financial Times, 16 December 2016, www.ft.com/ Tombouctou, Gao, Es-Souk. content/559aa998-c386-11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354; A Irwin, Emergency in Mali as looters are plundering 14 Atelier de formation des formateurs à l’attention des ancient treasures, New Scientist, 15 December 2016, forces armées et de sécurité sur la Convention de la www.newscientist.com/article/2116243-emergency-in- Haye de 1954, Presentation given by the Ministère de mali-as-looters-are-plundering-ancient-treasures/. la Culture, in collaboration with the Direction Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel, 2016, Materials provided by the 6 In 2015, a UNESCO conference called for more Ministère de la Culture; Interviews with representatives measures to be taken to halt the illicit trafficking of of the DNPC and the Malian military, Bamako, Timbuktu manuscripts: https://fr.unesco.org/news/ June 2019. conference-bamako-s-inquiete-du-sort-manuscrits- anciens-du-mali-propose-ses-mesures-urgence-0. In 15 Antiquities Coalition: #CultureUnderThreat: three years December 2016 and ICOM released an Emergency later, 18 April 2019, https://theantiquitiescoalition. Red List of Malian cultural heritage objects at risk, org/cultureunderthreat-three-years-later/. Submission highlighting the international community and art from the Directorate Nationale du Patrimoine Culturel market to particular object types at the highest to the renewal of the US-Mali bilateral agreement on risk of being looted. See: M Fick, Mali declares the export of Malian cultural objects, December 2017, archaeological emergency, Financial Times, 16 Materials provided to the research team by the authors. December 2016, www.ft.com/content/559aa998-c386- 11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354; A Irwin, Emergency in 16 See: C Panella, Looters or Heroes? Production of Mali as looters are plundering ancient treasures, New illegality and memories of ‘looting’ in Mali, European Scientist, 15 December 2016, www.newscientist.com/ Journal Criminal Policy and Research, 20, 2014, article/2116243-emergency-in-mali-as-looters-are- 487–502, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-014-9251-9. plundering-ancient-treasures/. 17 Interviews with a National Museum representative 7 Interview with Ministry of Culture representative, and an archaeologist, Bamako, June 2019. See also: M Bamako, June 2019; Materials provided by Ministry of Brent, The rape of Mali, Archaeological Ethics, 2006.

10 Culture in ruins: The illegal trade in cultural property, Mali 18 Interviews with representatives of the National of Mali. Antiquity, 65:249, 1991, 904–905, https://doi. Museum and the DNPC, Bamako, June 2019. See: org/10.1017/S0003598X00080649. C Panella, Looters or heroes? Production of illegality 28 Interview with a European-based archaeologist, May and memories of ‘looting’ in Mali’, European Journal 2019. See also discussion in: Timbuktu under threat, Criminal Policy and Research, 20, 2014, 487–502, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-014-9251-9. For World Archaeology, 54, www.world-archaeology.com/ discussion of primary fieldwork conducted 2001–2002. features/timbuktu-under-threat/; S Sidibé, The pillage of archaeological sites in Mali, African Arts 28:4, 1995, 19 M Brent, The rape of Mali, Archaeological Ethics, 2006. 52–55, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3337292.

20 Interviews with representatives of the National 29 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, Museum, Bamako, June 2019. June 2019, and a European-based archaeologist, May 2019. 21 As per presentation materials provided to us by the Ministry of Culture. 30 Materials on the renewal of this treaty in December 2017 provided to us by the Malian DNPC. 22 Interviews with representatives of the National Museum, Bamako, June 2019. 31 For example, in late 2016 with the publication of an updated Red List of cultural objects under threat 23 Interviews with a European archaeologist and a US- by the International Council of Museums, Malian based archaeologist, conducted remotely, May 2019. authorities officially declared a ‘cultural emergency’. 24 Interview 2, National Museum representative; Interview 32 See also as an external assessment: Association of with US-based archaeologist; Interview with European- National Committees of the Blue Shield, Civil-Military based archaeologist, May 2019. Assessment Mission for Malian Heritage, July 2014. 25 Interview with an antiquities dealer, Bamako, June 33 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, 2019; Interviews with two European-based art dealers, June 2019. July 2019. 34 In materials provided to us by the Malian Ministry of 26 For example, a controversy emerged in 2009 over Culture, and through interviews. the display of Malian terracottas in Geneva from the prestigious Barbier-Mueller collection, which 35 Survey work in the early 1990s in the south of the archaeologists pointed out were sourced from sites Niger Delta region already showed a high proportion discovered only after Mali’s antiquities legislation had of looted sites, which increased with subsequent been enacted, meaning they were definitively looted. follow-up work. See: R Bedaux and M Rowlands, See: F Burnand, Geneva row over African cultural The future of Mali’s past, Antiquity, 75:290, 2001, heritage, Swissinfo.ch, 2 May 2009, www.swissinfo.ch/ 872–876, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00089456. eng/geneva-row-over-african-cultural-heritage/996176. A lack of extensive survey in recent years means For an overview of key dealerships accused of there is uncertainty about the extent of sites which involvement in illicit trade see M Brent, The rape of are looted, so here we rely on estimates with on-the- Mali, Archaeological Ethics, 2006. ground experience of working in archaeological site protection. 27 See, among others: S Sidibé, The pillage of archaeological sites in Mali, African Arts, 28:4, 1995, 36 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, 52–55, www.jstor.org/stable/3337292. June 2019.

S McIntosh and R McIntosh, Dilettantism and plunder: 37 Interviewees from the cultural ministries repeatedly illicit traffic in ancient Malian art, 1986. Plundering stressed the close connection between members of Africa’s Past; PR Schmidt and RJ McIntosh, (eds), the tourism industry and illicit trade as key guides and Plundering Africa’s past, Bloomington: Indiana other agents would be able to provide the connections University Press, 1996; RJ McIntosh, T Togola and between vendors and potential buyers. SK McIntosh, The good collector and the premise of mutual respect among nations, African Arts, 28:4, 38 Interview with an archaeologist, Bamako, June 2019. 1995, 60–112, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3337296; PR McNaughton, Malian antiquities and contemporary 39 Interview with representatives of the Malian army, Bamako, June 2019. desire, African Arts, 28:4, 1995, 23–27, https://www. jstor.org/stable/3337288; PL Ravenhill, Beyond reaction 40 Interview with representatives of the Malian army, and denunciation: appropriate action to the crisis Bamako, June 2019. of archaeological pillage, African Arts, 28:4, 1995, 56–110, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3337293; M 41 Interview with Ministry of Culture official, Bamako, Dembélé and J Van Der Waals, Looting the antiquities June 2019.

November 2020 11 42 Interview with the leader of an illicit looting team, 60 Materials prepared for the renewal of the US-Mali Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019. cultural property treaty, December 2018, provided to us by the DNPC. 43 Interviews with two antiquities dealers, Bamako, June 2019. 61 Interview with the leader of an illicit looting team, Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019. 44 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, June 2019. 62 Interviews with representatives of the National Museum, Bamako, June 2019; interviews with 45 Interviews with two antiquities dealers, Bamako, representatives of the DNPC and another Mali-based June 2019. archaeologist Bamako, June 2019.

46 Interview with an antiquities dealer, Bamako, 63 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC and June 2019. another Mali-based archaeologist, Bamako, June 2019.

47 Interview with two independent antiquities dealers, 64 See H Cotter, Imperiled legacy for African art, New York Bamako, confirmed in interviews with archaeologists. Times, 5 June 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/ arts/design/african-art-is-under-threat-in-djenne- 48 Interviews with representatives of the National djenno.html?mtrref=undefined&assetType=PAYWALL. Museum, Bamako, June 2019. 65 For additional context, the glass beads are associated 49 Interview with an antiquities dealer, Bamako, with more recent medieval burials. The stone beads, June 2019. for example the granite beads, may date back to the Palaeolithic era. 50 Interviews with representatives of the National Museum, Bamako, June 2019. 66 Interviews with representatives of the National Museum, Bamako, June 2019. 51 Interview with former official of the National Museum, Bamako, June 2019. 67 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, June 2019. 52 Interviewees from both within and outside the market were unanimous that moving illicit objects 68 Interview with the leader of an illicit looting team, through Bamako airport would be ‘relatively’ or Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019. ‘very’ easy. 69 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, 53 It also provides a confirmed example of the otherwise June 2019; Remote interview with archaeologist poorly-evidenced yet much-discussed intersection working in the north of Mali close to Timbuktu, June between illicit antiquities trading and other forms of 2019; Interview with the leader of an illicit looting conflict-based illegal economies. team, Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019.

54 Information provided by the Ministry of Culture; 70 Representative Interpol, Bamako; NGO representative, Interview with representative of Interpol and Bamako. representatives of the Malian army, Bamako, June 2019. 71 See: Dune Voices, Trafic des manuscrits de Tombouctou: 55 Interview with two European-based archaeologists un commerce international incontrôlé, 29 November with long-standing specialist expertise on Malian 2015, http://dunevoices.info/index.php/fr/mali1/frontiere/ archaeology, Geneva, April 2019. item/278-trafic-des-manuscrits-de-tombouctou-un- commerce-international-incontrôlé; LL Westerhoff, 56 Interview with military representatives, Bamako, Maoc: trafic du manuscrits Maliens,RFI, 18 March 2013, June 2019. www.rfi.fr/emission/20130318-maroc-trafic-manuscrits- maliens; R Tchounand, Maroc: des manuscrits antiques 57 Three interviews with Bamako-based art dealers, maliens font l’object d’un trafic,Yabiladi, 19 March June 2019; Interview with the leader of an illicit 2013, www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/16161/maroc- looting team, Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019, manuscrits-antiques-maliens-font.html. corroborated by interview with representative of Interpol, Bamako, June 2019. 72 Military representatives, Bamako; Interpol representative, Bamako. 58 Materials prepared for the renewal of the US-Mali cultural property treaty, December 2018, provided to 73 See: Dune Voices, Trafic des manuscrits de us by the DNCP. Tombouctou: un commerce international incontrôlé, 29 November 2015, http://dunevoices.info/index.php/ 59 Interview with the leader of an illicit looting team, fr/mali1/frontiere/item/278-trafic-des-manuscrits-de- Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019. tombouctou-un-commerce-international-incontrôlé;

12 Culture in ruins: The illegal trade in cultural property, Mali LL Westerhoff, Maoc: trafic du manuscrits Maliens,RFI, 84 Interview with representatives of the Malian army, 18 March 2013: www.rfi.fr/emission/20130318-maroc- Bamako; Interview with representative of the National trafic-manuscrits-maliens; R Tchounand, Maroc: des Museum. manuscrits antiques maliens font l’object d’un trafic, 85 Interview with representative of the National Museum. Yabiladi, 19 March 2013, www.yabiladi.com/articles/ These NGOs include SAVAMA DCI and the Ahmed details/16161/maroc-manuscrits-antiques-maliens- Baba Institute. font.html. 86 Interview with representative of Interpol, Bamako, See: Dune Voices, Trafic des manuscrits de 74 June 2019. Tombouctou: un commerce international incontrôlé, 29 November 2015, http://dunevoices.info/index.php/ 87 Interviews with representatives of Interpol, the DNPC fr/mali1/frontiere/item/278-trafic-des-manuscrits-de- and the National Museum, Bamako, June 2019. tombouctou-un-commerce-international-incontrôlé; 88 Interviews with representatives of the National Museum Interview with representative of Interpol, Bamako, Bamako, June 2019. One solution is through the use June 2019. of ‘cultural banks’ whereby communities can place 75 Interview, heritage NGO representative, Bamako. cultural and religious objects in the care of the museum in return for financial support. This solution was cited 76 Interview with manuscript specialist, Timbuktu, as an innovative and effective solution. See: A Mayor, E conducted remotely, July 2019. Huysecom, Cultural pathways to development among communities, in Community archaeology and heritage 77 Interview with representative of Interpol, Bamako, in Africa: decolonizing practice, London: Routledge, June 2019. 2016, https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:85080.

78 Interview with the leader of an illicit looting team, 89 Interview with representative of the DNPC, Bamako, Mopti, conducted remotely, July 2019. June 2019.

79 UNESCO Evaluation Office, Case study: lessons learned 90 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC, Bamako, from Mali, UNESCO’s role and action to protect and June 2019. safeguard cultural heritage and promote cultural 91 See: L Schwartz, Antiquities Coalition Policy Note: pluralism in crisis situations, April 2017, www.unesco. taking the first step toward ending illegal antiquities org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/IOS/images/ trafficking,The Antiquities Coalition, 19 March 2019, PI_159_Mali_Case_Study.pdf. http://thinktank.theantiquitiescoalition.org/antiquities- 80 Interviews with representatives of the DNPC and the coalition-policy-note-taking-the-first-step-toward- National Museum, Bamako, June 2019. ending-illegal-antiquities-trafficking/; M Polner, Preventing illicit trafficking of cultural objects: a supply 81 Just after the research team left Bamako, one such chain perspective, in S Hufnagel and D Chappell, (eds), mission was undertaken to a site where a massacre The Palgrave Handbook on Art Crime, London: Palgrave had taken place just days before. Interviews with Macmillan, 2019, 769–793, https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1- representatives of the DNPC and the National Museum, 137-54405-6. Bamako, June 2019. 92 See: US Embassy in Mali, U.S. and Mali launch new 82 Interview with representative of one of the DNPC cultural preservation project to inventory Mali’s rich regional missions, Bamako, June 2019. cultural heritage sites, 5 September 2019, https:// ml.usembassy.gov/u-s-and-mali-launch-new-cultural- 83 Interview with representative of Interpol, Bamako, preservation-project-toinventory-malis-rich-of-cultural- June 2019. heritage-sties/.

November 2020 13 This project is funded by the European Union

About the authors

Julia Stanyard is an analyst at the Global Initiative. She holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Cambridge. Her MPhil thesis was on crime prevention strategies taken to combat the illicit antiquities trade. She has recently completed a fellowship with the British Institute for Eastern Africa, researching illicit antiquities in Africa.

Rim Dhaouadi is a research consultant for the ENACT programme. She is a lawyer and has a master’s degree in international law from Aix-en-Provence. She was legal officer and programme manager with Democracy Reporting International and with the Geneva Center for Democratic Governance of Armed Forces. About this case study

This case study forms part of a set of publications on the illegal trade in cultural property in North and West Africa, made up of research paper 18, as well as three case studies (on Mali, Nigeria and North Africa). About ENACT

ENACT builds knowledge and skills to enhance Africa’s response to transnational organised crime. ENACT analyses how organised crime affects stability, governance, the rule of law and development in Africa, and works to mitigate its impact. ENACT is implemented by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL, in affiliation withhe t Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Acknowledgements

ENACT is funded by the European Union (EU). The authors would like to thank Simone Haysom for her guidance and support during the fieldwork and coordination of this research, and also the many archaeologists and heritage experts consulted for this research for their generosity in sharing their time, expertise and dedication to their field.

Cover image: Malian Ministry of Culture

The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views or position of the EU, or the ENACT partnership. Authors contribute to ENACT publications in their personal capacity.

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