Joint Press Statement on the repatriation of Indigenous ancestral remains

Prime Minister of Australia the Hon Tony Abbott MP and Mr François Hollande, President of the French Republic, announced the issue of a Joint Statement on the Repatriation of Indigenous ancestral remains.

Released on 19 November 2014, the joint statement signals the commitment of both governments to increase efforts to work cooperatively and it sets in place a framework for a government-to-government approach to the repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains.

Specifically, this announcement represents a commitment by both governments towards repatriation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestral remains known to be held in French institutions to communities of origin.

Find out more: Joint Press Statement on the repatriation of Indigenous ancestral remains