On March 27, 2018, International Council of Museums (ICOM) published a statement emphasizing the independence of museums and warning that they must remain free from political interference.

The statement says: “Regardless of their funding source or governance model, museums should maintain control of the content and integrity of their programmes, exhibitions and activities.

“The high level of professional and institutional integrity and autonomy of museums should not be jeopardized by financial or political interests.”

The secretary of ICOM’s Ethics committee (2015-2018), France Desmarais, said the statement had not been prompted by any single event, but added: “We do feel that the current wider conjuncture could, in some cases, risk restricting the independence of museums to make their own artistic and scientific decisions.

“It seemed important to remind the diverse public and private governing bodies responsible for museums that decisions should be strictly based on best professional practice that promotes the interest of the museum institution, its missions, and its public. Not on political or financial interest.”

On 27th January 2020 The statement comes after recent high-profile cases of politically-motivated interference in museums in a number of countries.

Desmarais said: “It cannot hurt to be reminded of the independence that should be granted to museums. Especially in times when we observe that different democratic institutions, including institutions providing journalistic and/or scientific information, are under attack.

In light of the recent developments in the Georgian museum field, we publish the ICOM statement on the independence of museums and call on the controlling and governing bodies of museums that any decisions about museums should be based on the best professional practices that are consistent with the mission and interests of the museum institution.

See the full statement in Georgian: https://lnkd.in/dqaSzRBU

Statement in Eng: https://lnkd.in/d7RAutRt