A group of UK MPs has called for a ban on the public display of human remains, including ancient Egyptian mummies housed in the British Museum.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR) argues that exhibiting ancestral remains is unethical and should be outlawed unless explicit consent has been granted.
Campaign to End Human Remains Exhibitions
The Laying Ancestors to Rest report highlights concerns over African ancestral remains held in UK museums and universities. Many of these body parts—including bones, skeletons, skin, hair, and tissue—were taken during the eras of colonialism and slavery, causing distress to descendants and affected communities.
The report urges UK institutions to repatriate human remains whenever possible and calls for legal reforms that would allow national museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum, to remove such items from their permanent collections.
Calls for Ethical and Legal Reforms
APPG-AR Chair MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy stated that displaying human remains without consent perpetuates racial injustice and disrespects the deceased.
“Putting human remains on display is unethical, especially when no consent has been given,” she said. “Removing these exhibits fosters a cultural shift toward respect and dignity.”
There has been growing ethical debate over the exhibition of Egyptian mummies, with some institutions now referring to them as “mummified persons” to emphasize their humanity. However, these exhibits remain major tourist attractions.
Ribeiro-Addy compared the issue to the hypothetical removal of British monarchs’ remains for public display in another country, questioning whether such a practice would be deemed acceptable.
Outlawing the Sale of Human Remains
Currently, UK law allows individuals to possess, buy, and sell human body parts—provided they were not obtained illegally and are not used for medical transplants. The APPG-AR report calls for a ban on the commercial trade of human remains, arguing that human bodies should not be treated as commodities.
Ribeiro-Addy highlighted disturbing cases where human body parts have been turned into commercial objects, including:
• Foetuses preserved in jars
• Thigh bones fashioned into walking canes
• Spines of children made into handbags
She emphasized that such items are allowed to be sold under the guise of “art”, exposing a major legal loophole.
Revising the Human Tissue Act
The APPG-AR is calling for amendments to the Human Tissue Act 2004 to ensure that remains more than 100 years old are protected under the same legal framework as recent human remains.
Policy expert Iben Bo, who contributed to the report, pointed out that many African remains were looted during colonial rule and were originally taken for racist pseudoscientific research.
Bo criticized the continued display of Egyptian mummies, arguing that museums are not sacred spaces where visitors can pay respects to the dead.
“African diaspora communities express disgust at these exhibits because a museum is not a cemetery. There’s noise, children running around—it is not a place of mourning,” she explained.
Push for Repatriation and Ethical Storage
The report proposes that museums, universities, and institutions holding human remains should require a license for storage and should only display remains for religious or cultural purposes with proper consent.
For remains that cannot be repatriated due to lost historical records, the APPG-AR recommends establishing a memorial or burial site in the UK as a respectful alternative.
A British Museum spokesperson responded to the report, stating: “The museum follows ethical guidelines and ensures that all human remains in its collection are treated with respect and dignity.”
As debates continue over museum ethics, colonial legacies, and reparations, pressure is mounting on UK institutions to rethink their policies on displaying human remains.
