The Kingdom of Morocco succeeded, this Wednesday morning, in the Republic of Paraguay, in thwarting a new attempt by Algeria aimed at illegally appropriating Moroccan intangible heritage.
This is, according to a well-informed source, an attempt by Algeria to introduce an image of the traditional Moroccan caftan into a file concerning Algerian clothing. This prompted Morocco’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Samir Addahr, to file an official protest.
For the first time in the history of UNESCO, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage accepted Morocco’s protest and decided to remove the image of the Moroccan caftan from the Algerian file, following an official protest from the Moroccan delegation, which provided solid evidence.
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Indeed, the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, in coordination with the Permanent Delegation of Morocco to UNESCO, gathered data on the Moroccan caftan and obtained information on the image used and its Moroccan origin.
It should be noted that the Ministry of Culture has worked to reduce the illegal appropriation of heritage by Algeria, whether through UNESCO or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, or in establishing the “Morocco” label as a national mechanism for the protection of intangible heritage.
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Morocco participates in the work of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, with a delegation chaired by Samir Addahr, Ambassador, permanent representative of Morocco to UNESCO, and Mustafa Jellouk, Director of cultural heritage at the ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication.
