I refer the Noble Lord to the answer he referenced in his question. As I said in that answer, we will confirm further details of the Envoy's work in due course.

The UK believes strongly in the principle of property restitution for Holocaust survivors, who have waited over 80 years for justice and recognition of their loss of property. We are committed to upholding the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust-Era Assets, which sets out measures to right the economic wrongs that accompanied the Holocaust against the Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution across Europe. The UK Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, Jon Pearce MP, most recently met with the president of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation (WJRO) on May 6 where the issue of restitution, including in Poland, was discussed as a priority. We continue to work closely with the WJRO to progress restitution efforts.

The UK believes strongly in the principle of property restitution for Holocaust survivors, who have waited over 80 years for justice and recognition of their loss of property. We are committed to upholding the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust-Era Assets, which sets out measures to right the economic wrongs that accompanied the Holocaust against the Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution across Europe. The UK Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, Jon Pearce MP, most recently met with the president of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation (WJRO) on May 6 where the issue of restitution, including in Poland, was discussed as a priority. We continue to work closely with the WJRO to progress restitution efforts.

Since his appointment in February, the UK Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues has made excellent progress against his Terms of Reference for the role, including attending the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance plenary meeting in Argentina from 1-4 June, as the head of the UK's delegation, and meeting with the President of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation on 6 May to discuss the UK's ongoing commitment to the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust-Era Assets. Further details of the Envoy's work, including his overseas visits, will be confirmed in the usual way in due course.

The UK is committed to a strong, forward-looking, relationship with the African Union (AU). We are working with the AU and other African partners to tackle the most pressing challenges of today including security, growth and climate change and building partnerships for the future.

The UK's position remains as set out in the answer of 25 March 2025 to Question HL5718.

Museums are independent of the government and so decisions related to their collections are for their trustees to make. However, DCMS has previously issued Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums which encouraged museums to establish an advisory framework to assist in determining repatriation claims and provided a set of criteria which need to be taken into account in assessing claims. Museums publish their own policies under this guidance. We are considering how best to update the guidance, which is now 20 years old.

A number of museums, working in close partnership with the communities or countries of origin, have returned human remains to communities or countries in Africa, including the National Army Museum returning locks of hair of Emperor Tewodros II to Ethiopia, and Glasgow University’s Hunterian Museum recently returning ancestral remains of six people to South Africa.

Museums are independent of the government and are responsible for decisions relating to the care and management of their collections, including the return of human remains, therefore no such assessment has been undertaken.

However, DCMS has previously issued Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums which encouraged museums to establish an advisory framework to assist in determining repatriation claims and provided a set of criteria which need to be taken into account in assessing claims. Individual museums publish policies on their approach. We are considering how best to update the guidance, which is now 20 years old.

A number of museums, including the Natural History Museum, the Horniman Museum, and the Pitt Rivers Museum, working in close partnership with the communities or countries of origin, have returned human remains.

Separately, the Museums Minister met this month with DHSC to discuss broader issues of human remains including those relating to the Human Tissue Act 2004.

The government has not made an assessment, and has not raised the return of contested sacred objects with British Museum trustees.

The British Museum operates independently of the government. Decisions relating to the care and management of its collections, including the Ethiopian tabots, are a matter for its trustees.

The British Museum has a longstanding and cordial relationship with senior members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, both in Ethiopia and in London. The museum recognises the significance of the tabots and has held meaningful talks with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on this issue. The tabots are housed in a special location in the museum which is maintained in consultation with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and overseen by a committed curatorial and conservation team. The tabots are available to be visited by Ethiopian Orthodox priests and prelates which is reflective of Church practices.

The museum’s stated ambition is to lend the tabots to an Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the UK where they can be cared for by the clergy within their traditions.

The government has not made an assessment, and has not raised the return of contested sacred objects with British Museum trustees.

The British Museum operates independently of the government. Decisions relating to the care and management of its collections, including the Ethiopian tabots, are a matter for its trustees.

The British Museum has a longstanding and cordial relationship with senior members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, both in Ethiopia and in London. The museum recognises the significance of the tabots and has held meaningful talks with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on this issue. The tabots are housed in a special location in the museum which is maintained in consultation with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and overseen by a committed curatorial and conservation team. The tabots are available to be visited by Ethiopian Orthodox priests and prelates which is reflective of Church practices.

The museum’s stated ambition is to lend the tabots to an Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the UK where they can be cared for by the clergy within their traditions.

Museums which have public collections are independent of government and decisions related to their collections are for their trustees to make.

The Human Tissue Act 2004 allows national museums to remove human remains from their collections provided that they are reasonably believed to be remains of a person who died less than 1,000 years before the day the relevant section came into force.

DCMS issued Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums in 2005 which encouraged museums to establish an advisory framework to assist in determining repatriation claims and provided a set of criteria which need to be taken into account in assessing claims.

A number of museums have returned human remains over the last few years, including the Pitt Rivers museum to Aboriginal communities in Australia, the Natural History Museum to the Moriori community in New Zealand, and the National Army Museum returning locks of hair of Emperor Tewodros II to Ethiopia.

It is for businesses and auction rooms to decide whether to prohibit sales of human remains, taking into account the consent and licensing provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004. Those who sell or purchase human remains may also be subject to their own professional standards and codes of conduct.

Museums and galleries in England operate independently of the government. Decisions relating to the care and management of their collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum. The Arts Council published guidance in 2022 on the handling of restitution claims. The guidance sets out that, each claim should be considered on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the individual circumstances, provenance, and historic and current contexts.

No.

Decisions relating to the care and management of the museum's collections, including loaning objects from their collection, are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum, in accordance with the British Museum Act 1963. The British Museum is operationally independent of the Government.

We are aware that the Chair of the Trustees, George Osborne, has had talks with Greek Ministers on the issue, seeking a constructive partnership. We value the work that the British Museum does internationally, and welcome the success of their partnerships, such as the recent collaboration between the British Museum, the V&A, and the Manhyia Palace Museum in Ghana.

With regards to the legal title for the Parthenon Sculptures, the removal of the sculptures was lawful and well-documented. They were transferred to the British Museum in 1816 and have been the legal property of the British Museum, not the UK Government, since then.

The St Helena Government was responsible for the reburial of the remains and set up a Liberated African Advisory Committee to create a master plan for their respectful reinternment and to create a memorial and interpretation centre to honour those who died. The Committee consulted the island's community, National Trust and custodians of international enslavement sites around the world. The UK Government provided support for the reburial which took place on 21 August 2022 with the extensive involvement of the local community.

Approximately 8000 former slaves died after being taken to St Helena by the Royal Navy's West African Squadron trying to halt the slave trade in the mid-nineteenth century; their ancestral homes are not known. 325 Skeletons were unearthed during the construction of St Helena Airport and the UK Government provided support for their reburial on 21 August 2022. St Helena Government plans to create a memorial and interpretation centre to honour those who died.