Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act

Protecting international cultural property is a vital part of United States cultural diplomacy, showing the respect of the United States for other cultures and the common heritage of humanity.

International cultural property has been lost, damaged, or destroyed due to political instability, armed conflict, natural disasters, and other threats.

In Egypt, recent political instability has led to the ransacking of its museums, resulting in the destruction of countless ancient artifacts that will forever leave gaps in humanity’s record of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

In Iraq, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, thieves looted the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, resulting in the loss of approximately 15,000 items. These included ancient amulets, sculptures, ivories, and cylinder seals. Many of these items remain unrecovered.

In Syria, the ongoing civil war has resulted in the shelling of medieval cities, damage to five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the looting of museums and archaeological sites. Archaeological and historic sites and artifacts in Syria date back more than six millennia and include some of the earliest examples of writing.

In Iraq and Syria, the militant group ISIS/ISIL has destroyed cultural sites and artifacts, such as the Tomb of Jonah in July 2014, in an effort to eradicate ethnic and religious minorities from contested territories. Concurrently, cultural antiquities that escape demolition are looted and illicitly trafficked to help fund ISIS/ISIL’s militant operations.

In Mali, the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Ansar Dine destroyed tombs and shrines in the ancient city of Timbuktu—a major center for trade, scholarship, and Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries—and threatened collections of ancient manuscripts.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban decreed that the Bamiyan Buddhas, ancient statues carved into a cliff side in central Afghanistan, were to be destroyed. In 2001 the Taliban carried out their threat and destroyed the statues, leading to worldwide condemnation.

In Cambodia, following the Khmer Rouge’s seizure of power in 1975 the Khmer Rouge systematically destroyed many of Cambodia’s Buddhist temples, desecrated statues, and destroyed Buddhist literature. The Khmer Rouge also destroyed mosques and nearly every Catholic church existing in the country.

In China, during the Cultural Revolution much of China’s antiques were destroyed, including a large portion of old Beijing. Chinese authorities are now attempting to rebuild portions of China’s lost architectural heritage.

In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake destroyed art, artifacts, and archives important to the people of Haiti, and partially destroyed the 17th century Haitian city of Jacmel.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami not only affected eleven countries, causing massive loss of life, but also damaged or destroyed libraries, archives, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Mahabalipuram in India, the Sun Temple of Koranak on the Bay of Bengal, and the Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications in Sri Lanka.

The destruction of these and other cultural properties represents an irreparable loss of humanity’s common cultural heritage and is therefore a loss for all Americans.

The United States Armed Forces have played important roles in preserving and protecting cultural property. On June 23, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas to provide expert advice to the military on the protection of cultural property. The Commission formed Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) teams which became part of the Civil Affairs Division of Military Government Section of the Allied armies. The individuals serving in the MFAA were known as the “Monuments Men” and have been credited with securing, cataloguing, and returning hundreds of thousands works of art stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was founded in 2006 to support the implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and to coordinate with the United States military, other branches of the United States Government, and other cultural heritage nongovernmental organizations in preserving international cultural property threatened by political instability, armed conflict, natural, or other disasters.

protect and preserve international cultural property at risk of destruction due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters;

protect international cultural property pursuant to its obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and customary international law in all conflicts to which the United States is a party;

prevent, in accordance with existing laws, importation of cultural property pillaged, looted, or stolen during political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters; and

ensure that existing laws and regulations, including import restrictions imposed through the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury, are fully implemented to prevent the trafficking in stolen or looted cultural property.

activities undertaken pursuant to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, including—

actions the Department has taken to protect international cultural property pursuant to other cultural property protection statutes, international agreements, or policies.

directives, policies, and regulations the Department has instituted to protect international cultural property at risk of destruction due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters; and

actions the Department has taken to protect international cultural property, including actions to avoid damage to cultural property through construction activities abroad.

statutes and regulations the Department has employed in criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent and interdict trafficking in stolen and smuggled cultural property, including investigations into transnational organized crime; and

actions the Department has taken in order to ensure the consistent and effective application of law in cases relating to both international cultural property and international cultural property located in, or attempted to be imported into, the United States.

the term “archaeological or ethnological material of Syria” means cultural property of Syria and other items of archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific, or religious importance unlawfully removed from Syria on or after August 18, 2011; and

the term “State Party” has the meaning given such term in section 302 of the Convention on the Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601).