U.S. Supports U.N. Resolution Urging Countries to Take Antiquities Trafficking Seriously

U.S. Mission to the U.N.  Source: Elmschrat CC

The United States has supported a Greek-sponsored UN resolution (A/RES/67/80) titled "Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin."  The resolution (A/67/L.34), adopted by a consensus the General Assembly on December 12, urges nations to take antiquities trafficking seriously.  It was co-sponsored by 98 member states, including Canada, China, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, and the United States.

A United Nations press statement remarked,"By the text, the Assembly deplored damage to world cultural heritage sites, particularly in recent conflict and crisis situations, and called for an immediate end to such acts, reminding States Parties to the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of their obligations."

In his address to the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Anastassis Mitsialis of Greece said, "Despite concerted international efforts to tackle the problem, illicit traffic of cultural property continues to pose a serious threat to cultural heritage of States. This threat is higher in situations of crisis and conflict, when cultural objects are often smuggled outside their countries of origin."  Ambassador Mitsialis added that "interaction with the international art market in view of improving practices in various areas of expertise such as provenance, investigation, ethics and procedures of restitution proves to be of paramount importance."  Representatives from Argentina, Cyprus, Italy, and Turkey also spoke on the assembly floor in support of the resolution.

The resolution, in part, "Urges Member States to introduce effective national and international  measures to prevent and combat illicit trafficking in cultural property, including  publicizing legislation and offering special training for police, Customs and border services and to consider such trafficking a serious crime, as defined in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime."  UNTOC, ratified by the U.S. in 2005, defines serious crime as "conduct constituting an offence punishable by a maximum deprivation of liberty of at least four years or a more serious penalty."

The UN resolution "Also recognizes the importance of cooperation among States in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, as well as its illegal removal from the countries of origin, through, inter alia, the conclusion of bilateral agreements and  mutual legal assistance, including the prosecution of persons involved in such activities and extradition, in accordance with the laws of cooperating States and under applicable international law."

A video covering the introduction, discussion, and adoption of the resolution appears below (total time: 30 minutes).  The discussion references an August 1, 2012 report of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin, which can be viewed here.




This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2012 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

List of Stolen Objects from Olympia Museum in Greece

David Gill has posted a useful blog entry listing the objects looted from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia in Greece.  For background on last week's theft, see the video below.

CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

US-Greece MoU Produces Final Cultural Property Import Protection Rule

United States Customs and Border Protection today issued the final administrative rule covering import restrictions covering archaeological and ethnological material from Greece. The rule follows the July 17, 2011 adoption of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Greece under the Cultural Property Implementation Act in accord with the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The MoU entered into force on November 21, 2011 and can be found here.

Greek mosaic.
Source: Bijan.  CC.

Import protections are now in place on Greek archaeological and ethnological cultural items dating from around 20,000 B.C. through the 15th century A.D. These restrictions last for five years and were instituted in order to "control illegal trafficking of such articles in international commerce" and to protect "endangered cultural property," according to the rule.

Ancient objects subject to seizure at the American border include those made of stone, metal, ceramic, bone, ivory, glass, faience, textile, papyrus, paint, mosaic, wood, glass, and parchment. The import restrictions cover sculptures, sarcophagi, reliefs, furniture, vessels, tools, weapons and armor, coins, beads, pottery, musical instruments, documents, paintings, floor mosaics, and more.

Lawful entries of these specified cultural objects are permitted in certain cases. For example, a valid export permit from Greek authorities would allow an archaeological or ethnological cultural object to enter the US border.

The Federal Register has published the rule at 19 CFR Part 12.  Click here for the full text.

CONTACT: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com.

CPAC public sessions on Colombia and Greece cultural property agreements coming soon

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee will be holding public sessions on October 12 and October 14, 2010 to consider renewing the cultural property protection agreement with Colombia and to consider a new agreement with Greece.

More information can be found by reading the Federal Register at http://exchanges.state.gov/media/office-of-policy-and-evaluation/chc/pdfs/2010frncpacmtg10.pdf.

CPAC to Discuss Request by Greece for Cultural Property MoU

The United States often helps other countries whose cultural heritage is in jeopardy through bilateral agreements. These agreements come about through the Cultural Property Implemenation Act (CPIA). This federal statute gives force to the 1970 UNESCO Convention that protects cultural heritage by allowing the United States to set up import barriers to block looted and stolen cultural property from passing through our borders. It gives Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement the ability to seize illicit antiquities when smugglers try to bring them to America.

The CPIA sets up an advisory committee called the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) to help the White House decide whether to enter into one of these bilateral agreements that creates import restrictions.

On October 12, 2010, CPAC will meet at the State Department in Washington, DC to consider adopting an agreement with Greece to protect its archaeological heritage from looters and smugglers. Greece is where the first building blocks of western democracy were laid, so it is important that its rich history is protected.

You can lend your voice America's commitment to Greece's archaeological treasures by submitting written comments to CPAC by  September 22, 2010.

To send comments to CPAC go to www.regulations.gov and a web page will appear. In the box titled "Enter Keyword or ID" type in "DOS–2010–0339-0001" and then click on "Search." Under the "Document Type" heading, click on the box that says "Notices." Then look toward the bottom of the page to see a link that says "Submit A Comment." Click it and start writing.

Useful comments submitted to CPAC are ones that describe how
a) how US import restrictions of objects looted from archaeological sites would help to deter the destructrion of these sites, or

b) how US import restrictions on looted and smuggled archaeological objects can promote the exchange of scientifically excavated cultural materials between the United States and Greece for scientific, cultural and educational purposes.

The information described here can be found in greater detail on the Archaeological Institute of America's special web site located at www.archaeological.org/cpac. It is worth a visit to learn more.

Help protect cultural heritage by contacting CPAC and telling its members how you support adopting a bilateral agreement with Greece.