A/RES/52/24 Page 2 Aware of the importance attached by the countries of origin to the return of cultural property which is of fundamental spiritual and cultural value to them, so that they may constitute collections representative of their cultural heritage, 1. Commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation on the work they have accomplished, in particular through the promotion of bilateral negotiations, for the return or restitution of cultural property, the preparation of inventories of movable cultural property, the reduction of illicit traffic in cultural property and the dissemination of information to the public; 2. Reaffirms that the restitution to a country of its objets d'art, monuments, museum pieces, archives, manuscripts, documents and any other cultural or artistic treasures contributes to the strengthening of international cooperation and to the preservation and flowering of universal cultural values through fruitful cooperation between developed and developing countries; 3. Requests the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to continue to develop all possibilities for bringing about the attainment of the objectives of resolution 50/56; 4. Also requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution; 5. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled "Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin". 55th plenary meeting 25 November 1997