A/HRC/45/35 have been dispossessed of cultural property in conflicts since 1954 or who find themselves in conflict situations in the future. 22. The Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970 extends protection for cultural property beyond wartime. It has provisions on certification, anti-trafficking and repatriation. Cultural property is defined in article 1 as “property which, on religious or secular grounds, is specifically designated by each State as being of importance for archaeology, prehistory, history, literature, art or science” and which belongs to one of several categories. International cooperation is recognized in article 2 as one of the most efficient means of protecting cultural property. Article 3 provides that the import, export or transfer of ownership of cultural property effected contrary to the provisions of the Convention are illicit. 23. Several of the provisions of that Convention, including those in articles 5, 6 and 7, are preventative in nature, calling for States to take measures to prevent illicit trafficking of their own and others’ cultural property. Article 9 provides that any State party to the Convention whose cultural patrimony is in jeopardy from pillage of archaeological or ethnological materials can call upon other States parties who are affected. Indigenous peoples may seek to work with States under those provisions. 24. That Convention also contains remedial provisions for restitution or repatriation of items acquired after 1970, calling for States parties to take appropriate steps to recover and return cultural property imported after the entry into force of the Convention (art. 7) and to cooperate in facilitating the restitution of illicitly exported cultural property (art. 13). 25. While that Convention does not apply retroactively, article 15 permits special agreements for restitution between parties regarding cultural property removed from their territories before the entry into force of the Convention. Article 15 is thus of particular importance for indigenous peoples who may seek repatriation of cultural property acquired before 1970. Another relevant UNESCO mechanism is the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation, which is tasked with cultural property matters that fall outside the scope of the 1970 Convention. Since the Intergovernmental Committee is not associated with a specific convention, its services, including mediation, are available to all UNESCO Member States. 26. The UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects of 1995 applies not only to States and national museums, but also to other possessors of stolen cultural objects, potentially including auction houses, collectors and dealers. The UNIDROIT Convention provides in article 3 that “the possessor of a cultural object which has been stolen shall return it”. It also emphasizes the duty of purchasers and others to inquire into provenance. 27. Unlike the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict or the two UNESCO Conventions, the UNIDROIT Convention makes specific reference to tribal and indigenous peoples. Pursuant to article 5, the impairment of the traditional or ritual use of an object by a tribal or indigenous community is one of the reasons that the Convention recognizes for courts to order return of an illegally exported cultural object. While article 7 contains certain exceptions for items transferred during their creator’s lifetime, return is still required “where a cultural object was made by a member or members of a tribal or indigenous community for traditional or ritual use by that community”. 28. These instruments should be read in conjunction with relevant provisions from international human rights treaties relating to equality, non-discrimination, freedom of religion and cultural rights, including article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They should also be applied in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous peoples have the right to selfdetermination (arts. 3–4); to culture (arts. 5, 8, 11–15 and 31); to lands, territories and resources (arts. 10, 25–30 and 32); and to languages (arts. 13–14 and 16), all of which are inextricably linked to ceremonial objects, human remains and intangible cultural heritage. 29. Of particular relevance in the repatriation context, are articles 11, 12 and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Article 11 6