A new report states: More than half of the countries that pledged to take action to restore pieces of art looted from Jews in the Holocaust - have done nothing.
Among these countries, which are among the 47 that adopted the Washington principles in 1998 to act to restore works of art confiscated by the Nazis - Denmark, Romania and Spain.
The figures were revealed today (Tuesday) by the Claims Conference and the World Jewish Organization for Property Recovery, at a special conference held in Washington, with the participation of the US State Department and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The report, entitled "Cultural assets looted from the Holocaust: a contemporary global overview", reviews the progress that has taken place on the subject among the relevant countries, and states that out of the 47 - only seven countries have actually shown great progress on the issue (including Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States).
On the other hand, among 24 countries there was minimal progress, if any, including Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Romania and Spain.
Denmark, Romania and Spain did nothing.
Works of art looted by the Nazis and found in the home of Cornelius Gurlitt in Munich, Germany/Reuters
Among the report's findings, it also emerged that lawsuit procedures on the subject now exist in many countries, but there are still only a few cases that have been handled and ended with compensation.
Also, five of the 47 have established compensation committees in order to facilitate claims - however, in the vast majority of countries such committees have not yet been established.
A bright spot that was presented concerned the public collections, in which progress has been made, but even in this sector it is evident that there has been much less progress with regard to items that were previously privately owned and are now in private hands.
"Mute testimony to the life that was".
Police officers guard Picasso's "Minotaur, Drinker and Woman" painting, Brazil/AP
"While the generation of Holocaust survivors is slowly fading away - time is of the essence"
"The report highlights the critical need to promote the restitution of works of art and cultural property," said Gideon Taylor, president of the Claims Conference and the World Jewish Organization for Property Restitution.
"When you return property from public institutions or private individuals, you don't just return what was taken. It's about reconnecting families and communities to their heritage. Over the past 25 years, significant progress has been made, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. The support of 14 countries for the best practices is important Great, because it draws a road map for the future. We call on other countries, as well as museums, auction houses, dealers and owners of private collections to join us in the fight for justice and ensure that the rightful owners and their heirs get their cultural treasures back."
At a time when our generation of survivors is slowly fading away, time is of the essence," Ambassador Colette Avital, a Holocaust survivor and chairman of the Center for Holocaust Survivor Organizations in Israel, also responded to the data.
"The time to correct a historical distortion is now. For us, the survivors of the Holocaust, these works of art are part of our cultural heritage, our lives and our past. They are the silent witnesses to the lives and loves of individuals, families and communities, who were brutally murdered and whose memory we cherish."
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Anthony Blinken