OFAC Ok's Export of Cultural Heritage Protection Services by NGO's

Palmyra

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) this week published a notice reauthorizing nongovernmental assistance for cultural heritage protection in Syria.

General License No. 11A, issued under the Syria sanctions program, permits activities that support the preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites in that country "including, but not limited to, museums, historic buildings, and archaeological sites."

Nongovernmental organizations are permitted under the license to export services to Syria otherwise barred by Executive Order 13582, signed by President Barack Obama in 2011.

Photo credit: timot.

This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2010-2013 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT INFORMATION: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Roman, Byzantine and Other Conflict Antiquities from Syria

Antiquities from several Syrian cultural eras continue to appear on the art market. Since the last blog post describing this problem, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International produced the above May 17, 2013 report (not in English). It describes the arrest of one Lebanese and three Syrian nationals by Lebanese General Security for trafficking Byzantine, Roman and Aramaic artifacts stolen from Syrian churches and cemeteries.

Foreign Policy on May 8, 2013 similarly tells how the Syrian civil war has led to a "bull market for antiquities dealers and thieves."

American buyers should remain vigilant about purchases that have no collecting history or have suspicious provenance.

This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2010-2013 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT INFORMATION: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com

Antiquities Looting and the War in Syria

The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield met earlier this month in Washington, D.C. to discuss the impact on cultural heritage caused by Syria's armed conflict. The Blue Shield is paying close attention to the situation as wartime traffickers spill artifacts onto the black market and looters trade artifacts for guns.

Several news outlets have described the deteriorating situation, including TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. The April 7, 2013 CNN report below sheds light on how antiquities are exchanged for gun money.

This post is researched, written, and published on the blog Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire at culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com. Text copyrighted 2010-2013 by Ricardo A. St. Hilaire, Attorney & Counselor at Law, PLLC. Any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission of this post is prohibited. CONTACT INFORMATION: www.culturalheritagelawyer.com