Petition to:
The British Museum • The United Kingdom Government • UNESCO • The International Community

 
Summary
Egypt has finally opened the magnificent Grand Egyptian Museum—a global symbol of our nation’s pride, identity, and history.
Yet, as the world admires its beauty, we must face a painful truth: much of Egypt’s heritage still lies beyond its borders.
The British Museum alone holds more than one hundred thousand Egyptian artifacts, many taken during the colonial era and never returned.
It is time for our history to come home.

 
Why This Matters
The British Museum, founded in 1753 and opened in 1759, holds an immense collection of Egyptian treasures—many acquired under colonial rule and unequal power. Among its earliest acquisitions were antiquities gathered by Sir Hans Sloane, obtained through exploitative practices of the 18th century.

During the French Campaign in Egypt (1798–1801), Napoleon Bonaparte seized many of Egypt’s treasures. After the French defeat and the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801, these collections—including the Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799—were handed over to the British, who took them to London instead of returning them to Egypt. Since 1802, the Rosetta Stone has stood in the British Museum as its most famous exhibit.

In 1816, Britain established a consulate in Egypt and appointed Henry Salt as Consul-General. Salt, an antiquities collector, exported thousands of Egyptian artifacts to Britain and Europe. Under his patronage, the Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni removed the colossal 7-ton bust of Pharaoh Ramesses II, known as the Younger Memnon, from Thebes and shipped it to London. It remains one of the museum’s most iconic pieces.

By 1882, the same year Britain occupied Egypt, the Egypt Exploration Fund—founded by Amelia Edwards—was created to finance excavations that transferred Egypt’s cultural treasures abroad under the banner of “scholarship.”

Today, it is estimated that millions of Egyptian artifacts—possibly up to two million—remain outside Egypt, scattered among museums and private collections in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States.

Our Call
We, the undersigned, believe that Egypt’s heritage belongs to the Egyptian people and to humanity as a whole, not to the legacy of colonial possession.

We therefore call upon:

The British Museum to begin immediate, transparent negotiations with the Egyptian government for the repatriation of key cultural treasures, including the Rosetta Stone and the bust of Ramesses II.
UNESCO to establish an independent committee to oversee the return of cultural heritage displaced by colonialism.
All international museums holding Egyptian artifacts to acknowledge their origins and commit to equitable cultural partnerships with Egypt.
 
Join Us
The opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum marks a new chapter in Egypt’s story—but that story remains unfinished as long as our ancestors’ treasures remain abroad.
We call on the world to act with fairness and integrity.

Return Egypt’s stolen heritage. Let history come home.