ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The Federal National Council has approved a draft federal law on cultural heritage that introduces tougher penalties, including fines of up to Dh10 million and prison terms, for damaging or smuggling heritage items and antiquities.
The legislation was approved during the council’s 13th session of its third ordinary term in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. It is intended to protect, document, preserve and promote the UAE’s cultural heritage while ensuring it is passed on to future generations.
The new framework covers tangible, intangible, natural and digital heritage and applies nationwide, including in free zones. It also seeks to link heritage protection with cultural tourism and sustainable development planning.
The council added new definitions to the draft law, including digital heritage, which refers to digital materials of cultural, historical, scientific, social, environmental or economic value that form part of the nation’s memory and identity. It also defined archaeological surveys as work done to explore, document and register archaeological sites on land, underground or in territorial and internal waters.
Historical architectural heritage is defined as fixed material heritage dating from 1700 to 1960. Buildings erected after 1960, including schools, hospitals, museums and industrial facilities with cultural significance, are classified as modern architectural heritage. The law also protects underwater heritage such as shipwrecks, aircraft and submerged archaeological sites.
Under the draft, anyone who finds material heritage or antiquities must avoid touching them and report the discovery to the Ministry of Culture or the nearest police station within 48 hours. Authorities may reward people who report finds promptly.
The toughest penalties apply to deliberate damage, theft, unlawful seizure, smuggling or unauthorized work at heritage sites. Those offenses can bring temporary imprisonment and fines ranging from Dh500,000 to Dh10 million.
Additional penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines of Dh300,000 to Dh5 million cover activities such as unauthorized excavations, dumping waste at heritage sites, falsifying documents to move antiquities, counterfeiting artifacts or mocking heritage.
Lesser violations, including moving items without approval, failing to register heritage in one’s possession, obstructing officials or holding heritage-related events without a permit, can bring prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to Dh5 million.
Courts will also order the confiscation of heritage items, along with tools and equipment used in the offense, while protecting the rights of third parties acting in good faith.
The session was attended by Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, minister of culture, and Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, minister of health and prevention. The council also approved amendments to a separate draft law on communicable diseases during the same sitting.
