Rejected petition Amend the British Museum Act 1963 and return the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

We ask Parliament to (1) amend the British Museum Act of 1963 to allow the return of artefacts to their country of origin, and (2) direct the British Museum to arrange the immediate return of the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.

Petitions must call for a specific action that the UK Government or Parliament are directly responsible for.

We could accept a petition calling for the Government to amend the British Museum Act 1963 to allow the trustees to accept repatriation requests, but we could not accept a petition calling on the Government to direct the British Museum to accept a particular request, as this would be a matter for its trustees, not the Government or House of Commons.

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 29 October 2021
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