Arts Minister Estelle Morris launches Consultation on Status of Human Remains in UK Museums
100\04 A consultation paper looking at, among other things, current laws relating to collections of human remains in UK museums and claims for their repatriation was launched today by Arts Minister Estelle Morris.
The document, 'Care of Historic Human Remains', jointly published with the Welsh Assembly, is based on the recommendations of the Working Group on Human Remains in a report published in November 2003.
The main points of the consultation are:
· Whether current laws relating to the holding of human remains by UK museums, taken together with the new provisions of the Human Tissues Bill, are sufficient;
· Whether museums holding human remains should be subject to some form of Code of Practice or regulation;
· Whether the Government should establish a Human Remains Advisory Panel to mediate claims for repatriation; and
· How museums should handle claims for restitution of human remains and what model of consent should be adopted in dealing with any claims .
Estelle Morris said:
" I welcome the launch of this consultation. It is another important step towards an appropriate response to the claims of indigenous peoples, particularly in Australia, for the return of ancestral remains.
" The Government has already acted to implement the key recommendation of the Working Group on Human Remains namely that the law should be changed to allow museums to move human remains out of their collections.
"I hope this consultation will ultimately lead to the establishment of a fair and equitable framework for the holding of human remains in UK museums and for considering claims for their repatriation."
The consultation, which will run from 28 July to 29 October, also considers the recommendations in the minority report, by Sir Neil Chalmers (then Director of the Natural History Museum).
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Notes to Editors
1. The Working Group on Human Remains was set up in May 2001, by the then Minister for the Arts, the Rt. Hon. Alan Howarth MP. This followed a joint declaration by the Prime Ministers of the UK and Australia, in July 2000, to increase efforts to repatriate human remains to Australian indigenous communities. The Working Group's Report was published in November 2003. The Department and the Welsh Assembly Government will use this consultation to assess the appropriateness and necessity of the Working Group's recommendations. The results of the consultation will inform the Government's response to the recommendations of the Working Group Report.
2. The Government has already moved to implement the key recommendation of the Report, that the law should be changed to allow museums to move human remains out of their collections, through [what is currently] Clause 52 of the Human Tissue Bill. There is near unanimous agreement on the need for this legislative change – particularly, from the Directors of the museums concerned – which is why the Government has been able to legislate ahead of the wider consultation.
3. Respondents to the consultation paper in England and Northern Ireland should reply to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport at:
By email: Human.Remains@Culture.gsi.gov.uk
By post: James Dowling
Cultural Property Unit
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
4. Hard or electronic copies of the consultation document can also be obtained from James Dowling at DCMS (tel: 020 7211 6158 or via the above email address).
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