The Multipartite Parliamentary Group for African Repairs (Appg-Ar), led by Labor MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, recently submitted 14 proposals to the British government. These are intended to ban the sale and exposure of human remains (bones, skeletons, skin, hair, fabrics integrated into cultural objects) in museums and other institutions except for educational or religious purposes. The group also offers the creation of a legal framework for their restitution. These proposals are based on their report “Laying ancestors to rest”
The report recommends revising the 2004 “tissue act” in order to include human remains over 100 years old, especially those collected during the colonial period. Until now, only human remains of 100 or less have been subject to the prohibition of exposure, unless the communities from which human remains have not given their prior agreement. In fact it would lead not to exhibit Egyptian mummies.
The group also recommends introducing a compulsory license for any institution holding human remains, in particular those with a direct link with African communities. This license would limit public exposure to strictly educational or religious purposes and guarantee that these remains are not used for commercial purposes, as has been the case in the past in certain museums. Today the sale, purchase and exposure of human remains are authorized provided that the remains have not been acquired illegally.
The APPG-AR advocates the creation of a legal framework for the restitution of human remains carried away during the colonial period, in order to allow their return to countries of origin when possible. Today museums can decide to restore certain human remains to their communities of origin, but they are not legally obliged to do so. The report also suggests creating a memorial or a place of burial in the United Kingdom for the remains that cannot be returned because their exact origins are not identifiable.
France adopted in 2023 a law on the restitution of human remains of public collections, requests for restitution must be made on behalf of a human group still living in the country and whose culture is active, it only applies to people who died after the year 1500 and the restitution can only take place for funeral ends.
