The UNESCO Director-General appointed a principal expert and four consultants to draft the text on the convention, for later review by each member state.

The text adopted by the committee was a compromise between the comprehensive Secretariat draft and proposals tabled by the United States delegation.

The convention recommends the enforcement of the protection of cultural property in "three main pillars", each being preventive measures, restitution provisions, and international cooperation.

The first pillar, preventive measures, states that those signed to the treaty are to enforce the security and safety of cultural property, such as taking inventory, exportation certifications, monitoring of trade, and imposition of penal sanctions.

[16] The Intergovernmental Committee also manages the International Fund for the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation.

[18] It serves as a body of private law for the international art trade to assist the efforts of the 1970 Convention, which it reinforces with legal rules.

It seeks to end technical problems resulting from different laws in different states, and to contribute in the effort against illegal trade of cultural items.