German Museums Association is revising its Recommendations for the Care of Human Remains

The new edition will include contributions from Australia, Hawaii and Namibia as well as international reviews of the first version to ensure that various perspectives from societies of origin are included.

Together with researchers from societies of origin, the German Museums Association is revising the guideline “Care of Human Remains in Museums and Collections”, first published in 2013. The guideline will be published in German, English and French to promote international exchange.

In a press release, the German Museums Association writes that “With the new edition, the German Museums Association wants to strengthen the fundamental understanding of how to care for human remains in museums, to raise awareness of perspectives from societies of origin and to promote international dialogue on the subject.”

The new edition, which is expected to be published in June 2021, describes successful returns and highlights the great importance of returning human remains to their homeland, as they often have been removed without consent.