The International Council of Museums recognises that the repatriation of ancient
indigenous human remains is a growing legal issue that museums cannot ignore.1
Additionally, the Report of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, ‘Repatriation of ceremonial objects, human remains, and intangible resources’
under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in
July 2020, called for the implementation of Article 12 UNDRIP which includes the
repatriation of ancient indigenous human remains.2 However, the call for the decolonisation
of museums has highlighted some resistance to repatriation.