The Commission President attended the conference “Regards croisés sur la restitution de biens culturels”
Published on 15 May 2026
At the conference ‘Regards croisés sur la restitution de biens culturels’ – organised by the Centre du Droit de l'Art in Geneva on 7 May 2026 – the President of the Commission, Ms Simonetta Sommaruga, presented the Commission for Historically Problematic Cultural Heritage. She then participated alongside Ms Frédérique Dreifuss-Netter, President of the French Commission for the Restitution of Property and the Compensation of Victims of Anti-Semitic Spoliation, in a public discussion. The conference was held as part of the graduation ceremony for the award of the ‘Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in International Cultural Heritage Law and Provenance Studies’ to the class of 2024–2025. The presidents of both commissions also seized this opportunity for a bilateral exchange. Although the two commissions have different mandates, they share the same goal: to take responsibility, ensure justice, and not turn a blind eye to the history that still concerns us today.
Please find below the speech of the president of the commission: