Iraq advances at UNESCO and secures an eighth international post for its permanent representative.
Iraq advances at UNESCO and secures an eighth international post for its permanent representative.
2026-10-07
Shafaq News – Paris
Iraq has achieved a new international presence in UNESCO, with its permanent representative to the organization, Asad Turki Sawari, assuming the presidency of the Intergovernmental Committee on the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin and the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking (ICPRCP), for the period 2026-2028.
The Permanent Delegation of Iraq to UNESCO said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that the new position is the eighth that Suari has held in the organization’s structures in about two years since he began his duties as Iraq’s permanent representative in Paris.
The new position comes after a series of international positions held by Souaré, including Vice-President of the UNESCO General Conference for the 43rd session representing the Arab Group, Vice-President of the Intergovernmental Committee on the Return of Cultural Property, as well as membership in a number of committees of the organization’s Executive Board.
The positions also included membership in the Conventions and Recommendations Committee, the Non-Governmental Partners Committee, membership in the Intergovernmental Committee on the Return of Cultural Property, in addition to being Vice-President of the Extraordinary Session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, and membership in the Arab Founding Committee of the Memory of the World Register.
Iraq’s assumption of the chairmanship of the Committee on the Restoration of Cultural Property reflects a prominent presence in the files of heritage, protection of cultural heritage, and the recovery of antiquities and property that left their countries of origin illegally.
shafaq.com
