The Code of Ethics is currently being revised, led by the ICOM Standing Committee ETHCOM. The aim is to adapt the Code to today's challenges, and bring it in line with the new Museum Definition. At all stages, the opinions of members worldwide are sought and incorporated. What feedback has ICOM Netherlands gathered based on the second draft of the new Ethical Code for Museums?
Task
The new code is structured according to five core principles (Principles), which are further elaborated in more detailed descriptions (Statements). In this second round, we were asked to indicate by 1 May 2025 whether the elaboration of the Principles and Statements meets our expectations. In addition, we could indicate whether we miss terms the Glossary. ETCHOM will process all input in the coming period. The next step is decision-making in the ICOM Executive Board, after which the final will follow during the ICOM General Conference in Dubai, where the new Code will be presented to the members.
Gathered Feedback
During the consultation round we organised on 16 April 2025 and via the form that could be filled in online, we collected the following feedback, which we sent to the ICOM Standing Committee ETHCOM:
- We suggested that in several Statements where the word ‘leader’ is used, it should be replaced with the word ‘leadership’. For example, see Statement 2.1. Museum leaders should recruit staff and volunteers that safeguard the institution's need for professional knowledge and reflect the diversity of the communities they work with.
- Statement 4.1. Museums should create and maintain a collections policy: we indicated that it is necessary to add a clear description - for example in the Glossary - of the concept of ‘sensitive materials’. Does this refer to archaeological finds, natural materials and/or human remains and/or objects of native communities?
- Statement 4.2. Museums should be responsible stewards of the collections in their care: we indicated replacing the term ‘restoration’ with the common ‘preservation’. Ditto for the wording of Principle 4.
- Statement 4.3 Museums should follow professional acquisition and accessioning procedures: we noted that the sentence ‘Objects should always be obtained with the consent of their source community’ is problematic and raises several (practical) questions. For while we support the idea behind this Statement, a ‘source community’ cannot always be identified. Representatives of source communities are not always present and different versions of ownership exist. In addition, the wording is not applicable to all methods of collection creation. For example, in the case of buying at auction and acquiring collections from private collectors. The designation ‘their’ is not clear enough to apply in practice. Better would be to state that ‘If applicable, consent of the source community should be sought‘ and attach a best-efforts obligation to this.
- To supplement the Glossary, we suggest three terms that we think need further explanation or are more appropriate:
- Community
- Sensitive materials
- Preservation (replacing ‘restoration’)
Addition
Since the response form provided limited space for further explanation, it was decided to also send an additional e-mail to the ETHCOM board.