More than 21,000 people have signed an online petition urging UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee to reject an Algerian request to amend previously submitted files by adding the term caftan, a garment considered a core element of Morocco’s cultural identity.
The petition, initiated by Moroccan academics and cultural figures, argues that the caftan is “a historical and symbolic component of Moroccan heritage,” and that efforts by other states to reattribute it constitute “an unjustified cultural appropriation.”
Signatories say ambiguities in the 2003 Convention on safeguarding intangible heritage have enabled disputes over ownership, weakening protections for culturally rooted practices.
Petitioners also call for the removal of an image of the Moroccan nṭaʿa caftan from Algeria’s submission. Morocco filed a formal complaint to UNESCO last year over similar attempts.
The culture ministry says ongoing legal reforms aim to strengthen domestic safeguards for intangible heritage amid rising regional disputes.
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