paleonet Human Remains in the UK

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The British government has recently commissioned a special report (the Palmer
Report) on human remains in museums and other institutions in the UK. The
outcome of this report will inform national policy and legislation on this
topic. The report makes repatriation (which was illegal in the UK) much
easier,
and its impetus has been talks between Tony Blair of the UK and John Howard of
Australia over repatriation issues.

Perhaps obviously, the outcome of this report may have important consequences
for museum and university holdings in the UK. The report is in the process of
consultation, and we in Britain wonder what the international community thinks
about these issues. National legislation adopted here could set a
precedent for
the rest of the world.

Could those with opinions, please post them to the listserver, or, if
interested, directly write to Tessa Jowell, who is the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media, and Sport UK government (the branch that includes national
museums).

The Report can be found at:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/publications/archive_2003/wgur_report2003.htm

There is a short piece on the controversy on the New Scientist website:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994352

With best wishes,
David

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. P. David
Polly d.polly@qmul.ac.uk
School of Biological Sciences +44 (0)20
7882-6314
Queen Mary, University of
London www.qmul.ac.uk/~ugha096/
London E1 4NS UNITED KINGDOM