The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication has undertaken a series of legal measures to deal with Algerian attempts to appropriate the Moroccan caftan, attribute it to their heritage and have it registered in the file that ‘they presented to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
A knowledgeable source told MoroccoLatestNews that the image present in the file submitted by Algeria to UNESCO, available on the organization’s official website, is in fact an image that corresponds to the Moroccan caftan (caftan of the city of Fez), emphasizing that ” the ministry contacted, Wednesday, July 5, the delegation of Morocco to UNESCO to ask them to intervene in the subject and to take the necessary measures, because this caftan cannot be taken and presented as part of the heritage of neighboring state“.
The same source added that the legal procedure followed by the line ministry is to file a complaint exposing the case before the UNESCO Evaluation Committee, adding that “ this is the action and procedure that the ministry will follow in coordination with the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Moroccan Delegation to UNESCO in order to remove the image of the kaftan and the description written under the image, but not the file name“.
The same source also pointed out that Morocco officially submitted, two months ago, the caftan’s file to the Government Heritage Preservation Committee for the year 2025, specifying that the Ministry of Youth will firmly defend the Moroccan caftan with of UNESCO and that the measures it will take will be reasonable and aimed at defending Moroccan heritage.
An official from the Ministry of Youth said that “UNESCO gives countries the right to register as intangible heritage every two years. In 2021, Morocco registered the Tbourida, but did not have the right to do so in 2022. This year, the Malhoun art will be registered, but the caftan will not be registered until 2025, according to the law of UNESCO“. He believes that this law must be discussed in order to consider changes, thus allowing the recording of several elements each year“.
In the same context, a group of activists launched a petition on social networks this Thursday morning, calling on Moroccans to sign it to protest against the use of the image of ” caftan of the city of Fez in the Algerian heritage file at UNESCO, calling for its withdrawal and a relentless defense of Moroccan heritage against repeated attempts at theft and to rectify all errors in this case.