Closed petition Amend the British Museum Act 1963 to allow for the return of artefacts

Closed on 30 May 2024

Museums are facing calls to return artefacts to their places of origin. The British Museum Act holds that the Trustees of the British Museum shall not dispose of objects vested in them except in very limited circumstances.

Trustees do not have the power to sell, exchange, give away or dispose of any object vested in them and comprised in the Collection except in limited circumstances, such as when the object is a duplicate of another object held in the Collection, or the object is unfit or useless for the purposes of the Museum.

Egyptians call for the return of the artefacts inherited from their ancestors. Egypt has preserved its artefacts for thousands of years and can preserve them for the future.