Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums steering group recommendations: Scottish Government Response

Recommendation six

Scottish Government should demonstrate their support for restitution and repatriation of looted or unethically acquired items in Scottish collections.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

We recognise the necessity to consider the ethics of the original method of acquisition of objects in our collections, especially where there are contested accounts of that acquisition. Where objects are proven to have been acquired unethically we strongly encourage that museums consider repatriation/rematriation of these objects.

Open, respectful and transparent conversations are required to provide the foundation of any successful repatriation discussions, which would best consider the specific complexity and detail of each item on a case-by-case basis, all of which would need to work within existing legal frameworks and abide by international law.

This is a complex and sensitive area. Some of the levers around repatriation of objects are reserved to UK Government. However, the Scottish Government is working with partners to identify any barriers to repatriation that are within its control and will seek to find routes to remove these.

Given the current challenging public finance context, it is not currently possible to establish a dedicated funding stream to support repatriation.

However, the Scottish Government is committed to opening discussions with anti-racism and decolonisation experts, building on knowledge from the communities of origin, from communities affected by racism and by the removal of objects. This will be done alongside experts in the museum sector to consider the format and scope of bespoke national guidance in Scotland to offer support for items with contested histories.

We recognise the importance of bringing in specific anti-racism expertise for this process as we demonstrate our commitment to national repatriation guidance which will provide a set of guiding principles to consider repatriation that is fit for purpose with both national and international communities.