Morocco files complaint to UNESCO about Algeria’s Caftan theft

RABAT - Morocco has officially filed an official complaint with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) against the Algerian theft of the Moroccan Caftan, according to an official source.

The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, in coordination with the Permanent Delegation of Morocco UNESCO, filed this complaint following the introduction of a Moroccan caftan in a file submitted by Algeria to the organization for the recognition of traditional Algerian costume.

The complaint, which was signed by Minister of Culture, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, was addressed to Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay, noting the presence of a Caftan from “Ntaa de Fez” in a file that Algeria intends to file to the government committee responsible for the preservation of intangible heritage, yet another attempt by Algiers of cultural appropriation.

Morocco was notified of the theft of the said Caftan, property of Morocco, while it was in a museum in Amsterdam. This caftan is the one that appears in the Algerian file.

“Morocco would like to draw the attention of UNESCO and its Member States, in particular those part of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention and its evaluation body, on certain appropriation maneuvers sowing confusion as to the authenticity and origin of certain Moroccan intangible cultural heritage assets,” wrote Bensaid.

The Moroccan ministry demanded the removal of the image of the Moroccan Caftan from the file presented by Algeria, which it said intentionally leads to confusion.

It emphasised that Moroccan cultural heritage “constitutes an integral part of Moroccan identity.”

Morocco warned of the dangers linked to attempts to appropriate elements of Moroccan intangible cultural heritage and called on the UNESCO commission to be vigilant in processing application files, in order to avoid theft and appropriation of the countries' cultural heritage.

The Ministry of Culture stressed that Morocco will not accept any exploitation of the 2003 Convention relating to the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, without giving more details on the forms or means used for its exploitation for purposes of theft or appropriation of assets.