History catches up with thieves of opportunity

"The restitution of African cultural items will therefore initiate a new economy of relations whose effects will not be limited to cultural spaces or those of museographical exchange," the report said.

After publication of the report, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to "do everything possible" to return some of Africa's looted cultural heritage.

In 2021, France returned 26 artifacts to Benin that had been stolen by the French army in the 19th century and housed in Musee du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, a large ethnographic museum in Paris.

"The last few years have certainly seen an increased interest from museums to address the problematic narratives attached to the cultural objects in their collections. This has included revising object descriptions and information labels, releasing ethical statements, but also repatriating objects that are found to be looted or stolen," said Emiline Smith, lecturer in art crime and criminology at the University of Glasgow.

The report divided opinion, but in the aftermath the Netherlands released a report saying the country must be "willing to return unconditionally any cultural objects looted in former Dutch colonies if the source country so requests".

Germany also released a framework principle for dealing with collections from colonial contexts in a "responsible manner in close coordination with the respective countries and societies of origin".