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Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Irina Bokova has written to UN chief Ban Ki-moon calling for a suspension of trading in Haitian artworks to prevent the loss of the country's cultural heritage, said a UNESCO statement on Monday.
Bokova said she hoped UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes, organizations coordinating relief work in Haiti, and the UN peacekeeping mission could join hands in doing what they can to protect those places where Haitian artworks are kept, such as museums, galleries and churches.
Bokova urged the United Nations to pass a resolution suspending trade and transfer of Haitian artworks, and suggested the ban be enforced by the International Criminal Police Organization and the World Customs Organization.
Bokova also hoped that the international community and the art market would make joint efforts to prevent the loss of Haitian artworks.
She pointed out that what's the most important now is to verify the source of the artworks during the trading process and to prevent people from digging or stealing relics in the collapsed historical sites.
According to figures released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12 has killed 113,000 people, injured 196,000 others and left 482,000 homeless.
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