Syria
The multilingual UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws provides access to the relevant national legal bases. Another source of information on national cultural asset protection laws is the Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws On Crime (SHERLOC) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
This State Party to the UNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970 is also a State Party to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegaly Exported Cultural Objects, which entered into force on 1 July 1998. The national legal bases are therefore also partially provided by the WIPO database.
Caution: embargo regulations
Particular reference should be made to EU-wide regulations for cultural goods from Syria, which provide for an import, export and trade ban for cultural goods. The comprehensive ban does not apply if the goods can be shown to have been exported from Syria before May 9, 2011. The burden of proof lies with the owner of the respective property. The violation of these prohibitions is a criminal offense under the Foreign Trade Act, but at least an administrative offense.
Please be aware: certain cultural goods belonging to the cultural heritage of this state are included in object categories of the so called Red Lists of the particularly endangered cultural heritage by the International Council of Museums ICOM.