The election took place during the 43rd session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation, UNESCO, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
New members have been elected for a four-year term, 2025-2029.
The election of Poland is a recognition of the country's successes in the restitution of cultural property, according to officials.
Poland's Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska wrote on the X social media platform that the election represented "the next step in a consistent policy of reclaiming of cultural property and cooperation with UNESCO."
She added: "We are strengthening our position at the table where decisions are made about protection and the just return of heritage."
The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to Its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) was founded in 1978.
The body "seeks ways and means of facilitating bilateral negotiations for the restitution or return of cultural property to its countries of origin and promote multilateral and bilateral cooperation around this issue."
The ICPRCP features 22 UNESCO member countries elected by the General Conference for a four-year term.
Every two years, half of the ICPRCP seats are up for election.
The committee makes inclusions in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The list "comprises practices and phenomena from around the world that help showcase the diversity of intangible heritage and raise awareness about its significance," the Polish culture ministry said.
Earlier this week, Poland’s centuries-old basketry traditions were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Basketry traditions are Poland’s seventh entry on the list, alongside the Kraków nativity scene tradition, tree beekeeping culture, falconry, the flower carpets tradition for Corpus Christi processions, timber rafting, and the polonaise, a traditional Polish dance.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ICPRCP