Last year alone, more than 37,000 cultural objects – including archaeological objects, works of art, coins and musical instruments – were seized in an international operation led by Interpol and other organizations, working with law enforcement and customs authorities from 23 countries.

According to Interpol, Ukrainian customs authorities intercepted 87 items of historical value, including icons of Saint Seraphim of Sarov and ancient coins that smugglers were trying to illegally export to Poland, Moldova and Romania.

In Spain, investigators discovered a group that had looted archaeological sites in Cáceres province, using metal detectors to extract thousands of Roman coins and selling them on social media.

In Greece, three people were arrested for trying to sell five Byzantine icons for $80,000.

International cooperation

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the smuggling of cultural goods is, alongside arms and drug trafficking, among the most lucrative illicit exchanges.

However, unlike other forms of trafficking, the trade in cultural goods is not completely forbidden.

The high demand for antiques and works of art, combined with weak regulation, makes the market very lucrative and relatively low-risk, particularly in times of political instability, war and social upheaval, where changing priorities often leave archaeological sites and museums unattended.

Organized criminal networks take advantage of crises, operate through complex supply chains, and profit from both the legal and black markets.

Talk to UN News in advance International Day Against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Propertycelebrated every year on November 14, the cultural organization of the United Nations, UNESCOKrista Pikkat of Krista Pikkat said: “Illicit trafficking, theft and illicit transfers of cultural property really touch on issues such as cultural rights, cultural identity, our memory and communities and their history. »

Increasingly, traffickers are also turning to online platforms and auctions to sell stolen items, including items recovered from underwater archaeological sites.

UNESCO condemned the October 2025 theft of “eight priceless cultural objects” from the famous Louvre Museum in Paris, France, warning that such crimes “endanger the conservation, study and transmission of valuable historical objects.”

Financing of terrorism

The organization highlights that illicit trafficking fuels global criminal networks linked to money laundering, tax evasion and even terrorist financing.

Since 2023, UNESCO has trained more than 1,200 museum and customs professionals from 80 countries to strengthen legal frameworks, train and raise public awareness.

“We also collaborate with some of our partners, for example the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to see how nuclear technology can be applied to provenance research. It is therefore also interesting to see how new technologies in artificial intelligence actually offer us new opportunities in the fight against illicit trafficking,” added Ms. Pikkat.

In September, UNESCO launched the first Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objectsusing 3D modeling and virtual reality to display digital replicas of stolen objects.

The platform includes educational materials, testimonies from affected communities and examples of successful restitution. “The idea behind the museum,” Ms. Pikkat said, “is that one day it will be empty.”

She shared a personal example involving her home country of Estonia, which nominated several altar sculptures from a small island church to the museum’s collection.

Made by Lübeck artisans in the 16th century, these pieces reflect Estonia’s historical ties to the Hanseatic League.

Their true value, she stressed, lies not in money but in their historical, cultural and spiritual significance. UNESCO warns that a society deprived of its heritage loses part of its identity and the foundations of its future development.

The UN cultural agency continues to support countries in their efforts to identify and recover stolen objects, particularly in Central Asia, where objects have been trafficked from Afghanistan.

Digital tools such as electronic records, databases and blockchain technology now help trace the provenance of antiquities.

Authorities urge buyers to always request official documents proving origin and to avoid unknown online sellers. Suspicious items can be reported to local law enforcement or directly to Interpol.

Each repatriated artifact reestablishes a precious link between past and present.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, deplored the latest wave of drone and missile strikes, which damaged or destroyed homes, medical facilities and heating networks in the city.

“I condemn the massive damage caused to civilians by these strikes, which are destroying essential infrastructure just as winter sets in.“, he declared in a declaration posted on social networks.

Assault on energy systems

Ukraine is facing intensifying attacks on its energy network, UN human rights investigators said recently. report.

“The month of October was marked by emergency power cuts in several regions of Ukraine, due to the Russian Federation’s continued attacks on some regions and new large-scale strikes against energy infrastructure,” the statement said.

Children suffering

At least six people were killed in the kyiv attack, according to media reports.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said two children, aged seven and ten, were among the injured.

“Even more terrifying, sleepless and cold nights for children in Ukraine as attacks continue, affecting homes, electricity and heating supply systems», the agency tweeted.

UNICEF also spoke to a boy called Viacheslav. His house was damaged in the strikes and his neighbors were among those reportedly killed.

“First there was a roar, then it got louder, then everything exploded. Our windows exploded,” he recalls. “I was very scared.”

UNICEF called for an end to all attacks and for the protection of children.

Humanitarian response continues

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its fourth year and continues to devastate lives and infrastructure.

More than 14,500 people were killed and nearly 38,500 injured.

Nearly 13 million people, 36 percent of the populationneed for humanitarian aidaccording to the UN aid coordination office OCHA.

Despite the challenges, the The UN and its partners helped 8.4 million people last year.

This ordeal has reduced people to eating peanut shells and animal food, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday, before condemning the massacres of civilians, executions based on ethnicity and other atrocities, which should continue.

At Human Rights Council In Geneva, Mr. Türk told Member States that the bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher were visible from space.

“We warned that the fall of the city to the Rapid Support Forces would result in bloodshed,” he said. before calling for immediate international action to end the violence at a special meeting called by relevant member states. “Everyone involved in this conflict should know: we are watching you and justice must prevail. » insisted the High Commissioner.

Stuck, looking for help

According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCRNearly 100,000 people have fled El Fasher and neighboring villages in the last two weeks alone.

“They are stuck somewhere” said Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, head of the agency’s sub-office in Port Sudan. Families arriving in Tawila, about 50 kilometers from El Fasher, recounted “unimaginable horrors” before and after fleeing the town, she said.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva by video, Parlevliet highlighted widespread reports of rape and sexual violence by escapees and scenes of despair.

“Parents are searching for missing children, many of them traumatized by the conflict and the dangerous journey to safety. Unable to pay ransoms, families have lost young male relatives to arrest or forced recruitment into armed groups.” » explained the UNHCR official.

Those hoping to find safety away from El Fasher face increasingly dangerous journeys bypassing military checkpoints, with some traveling for up to 15 days with limited food and water before finding refuge in places like Ad Dabbah in the Northern state.

The small town on the banks of the Nile is now home to at least 37,000 El Fasher residents and thousands more are believed to be on the way. There are also reports that armed groups are forcibly returning many people to El Fasher, where conditions are dire, UNHCR said, citing local sources.

“Thousands of people, especially the elderly, the disabled and the injured, remain stuck, either prevented from leaving the city or lacking the means or strength to flee,” Parlevliet told reporters.

A crisis of staggering proportions

Sudan has the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 12 million people uprooted inside and outside the country.

For many of those trying to return home elsewhere in the vast East African country, the threat of unexploded weapons remains enormous, according to the United Nations Mine Action ServiceUNMAS.

He noted that in South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Blue Nile states alone, 13 million square kilometers of land are contaminated.

“Many other countries are affected by explosive remnants of war and landmines…Sudan is very different. Why? Because the war is mainly taking place in urban areas,” said Sediq Rashid, head of UNMAS Sudan, speaking from Port Sudan.

He explained that in the capital, Khartoum, risks ranged from unexploded and abandoned ordnance to anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines.

Displaced families are particularly exposed, often settling in unfamiliar places “without any awareness of past conflicts or contamination,” Mr. Rashid continued.

Meanwhile, civilian casualties from mines and other unexploded ordnance continue to rise – “and we know that the reported cases represent only a fraction of the true scale of the damage,” he said.