The Swiss Cultural Heritage Inventory Project is CHARD’s latest project, underway throughout 2026. The project - supported by the Federal Office for Culture - will digitise and register thousands of objects currently at risk in conflict zones such as Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Iraq and Libya. The project particularly builds on the records of Swiss archaeologists, art historians and experts or in Swiss‑held inventories. These archival records from museums, archaeological missions and researchers will be converted into searchable database entries to enable the identification of stolen or missing cultural property when it appears for sale, supporting law enforcement investigations and recovery efforts.

The project builds on Switzerland’s long-standing leadership in cultural heritage collaboration and uses CHARD’s proven partnership with the Art Loss Register to ensure perpetual monitoring of the art market. Designed for long-term impact, the project transforms existing documentation into a sustainable, globally relevant tool against illicit trafficking.

While SCHIP is directed to wherever museums, sites and objects are at risk, a particular focus for the project is on Sudan. SCHIP will address the acute cultural heritage crisis caused by Sudan’s civil war, during which museums, archaeological depots, and cultural institutions have been looted or damaged. Despite the scale of loss, Sudan remains severely overlooked: the international art market is unfamiliar with Sudanese heritage, and the INTERPOL database lists only five objects from Sudan - not because risk is low but because documentation is scarce. Furthermore a major driver of vulnerability is systematic misattribution - Sudanese objects are frequently marketed as “Ancient Egyptian”, a category that obscures its true origin and increases the risk of illicit Sudanese objects entering circulation undetected. The project directly targets this gap in recognition and reference data.

Get in touch to find out more about this active project.