PUBLIC SUMMARY

Request for Cultural Property Protection from the Government of the Republic of Colombia

Preface
This request is submitted to the Government of the United States under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and in agreement with the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, Section 303.

1. THE HERITAGE OF COLOMBIA
a. The Archaeological Record
The ancient cultures of this northwestern corner of South America were a myriad of self-contained, small-scale chiefdoms and incipient state polities that first appeared in c. 3000 BC. The many distinct culture groups produced a diverse and sophisticated material culture, of which - with few exceptions - only artifacts of stone, metal, and ceramic have survived the aggressive climate. While these cultures exchanged goods widely, artistic styles of the region are distinctive, and increasingly easily associated with specific locations. Tombs constitute the primary resource in this region on which scholars rely.

b. Legacy of the Colonial Era
The rich cultural range of pre-conquest Colombia was overwhelmed by the imposition of European values, language, aesthetics, and religion, starting the moment the Spanish established their first missions in the first part of the 16th Century. Elements of the late Gothic, Mudéjar, and Baroque sensibilities are seen in important civic architecture; stern symbols of the rigid orthodoxy of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, afoot at the time of the Conquest, are seen in religious buildings, objects, and paintings. Interesting mixtures of Spanish and native iconography are seen in mission features and ornamental arts.

c. The Changing Attitude Toward History
Several forces combine to promote a new attitude about Colombia's physical heritage, including the development of scholarly archaeological research with an emphasis on context and culture - not simply on objects, the opening of new lines of research in environmental and cultural studies, the response to the need for inventories and local museums, a welcoming of both national and foreign researchers into all these areas, and the increased sophistication and tightening of legal constraints on the acquisition and trade of objects of cultural significance.

Colombia sees itself as a multiethnic and multicultural nation building constructing its memory from the rich histories that have begun to emerge from academic research. With the encouragement of the Ministry of Culture, the results of two decades of archaeological investigation are starting to illuminate Colombia's culturally diverse past, and to provide detail on the human, ritual, and political realities of antiquity. Beautiful but disconnected objects are transformed into a legible, interrelated material culture that is the foundation of national identity.

2. PILLAGE AND ITS EFFECTS
The plunder of indigenous tombs in Colombia started in the 16th century with Spaniards extracting the rich offerings from burial mounds in the Sinu region of the Caribbean plains. Thereafter, the conquest routes followed the sources of gold, salt, emeralds and cotton blankets - useful for their monetary value. The monetary value of pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts and Colonial-era objects continues to tempt citizens and foreigners, even though the laws have changed.

An historic lack of appreciation by the population of the value of archaeological heritage to the nation, and the lack of preparation of official bodies have allowed the loss and destruction of irreplaceable archaeological material. Similarly, losses through theft and illegal appropriation of furnishings and religious art from churches across the country - for lack of security, attention, or threats of consequences - have depleted the national legacy from the Colonial and subsequent periods.
In many areas of Colombia, looting is commonplace, and crosses all social strata. The Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH) and the Ministry of Culture - the agencies charged with heritage stewardship - must be creative and focused to educate citizens and stem the loss of objects that tie the country to its history. The practice is difficult to eradicate, and while various sectors are working hard on a range of mitigation measures, the help of the US and other nations is crucial.

3. ILLICIT TRAFFIC OF COLOMBIA'S MOVABLE HERITAGE - THE US AS AN IMPORTER
The United States is one of several countries where the market is brisk in Colombian archaeological and Colonial period material, as evidenced by the US-based Internet auction sites. Religious and decorative art from the Spanish Colonial period is more homogeneous throughout the region, and thus less easily associated with find-spots. However, it is certain that thefts of these materials from Colombian churches is common.

Web sites and established galleries consistently offer an extraordinary range of ceramics, gold work, and stone sculpture easily identified with specific Colombian culture areas. Following a massive tomb-looting episode at Malagana in 1992, for example, highly recognizable objects flooded immediately onto the market, and these can now be seen in exhibitions and in circulation in secondary or tertiary sales.

4. MEASURES TAKEN BY COLOMBIA TO PROTECT MOVABLE HERITAGE
a. Legal Measures, Security, and Enforcement
The National Constitution [1991] takes a strong and constructive position on the importance of the physical cultural heritage, the common ownership of all heritage by the government on behalf of the citizens, and the obligation of the government at all levels, as well as all citizens to protect and preserve it. Specifically addressing these principles are Articles 63, 72, 82, 95, 101, 332, and 333.

As early as 1920, national Laws were enacted to protect the heritage from destruction, loss, theft, and trade. [e.g.: Laws 47, 103, 163]. More recent Laws, particularly those from 1991 on, are considerably stricter, and provide practical and focused regulation of the legal uses of heritage, and detail the definitions and consequences of illegal uses of heritage [Law 397]. Police Codes [e.g.: Title IV, Title VIII] and Legislative Resolutions and Agreements assign specific responsibilities and authority, and/or obligations to police, customs officials [Decree 2688 of 1999], the National Institute of Anthropology and History [Resolution No. 0787 of 1998, Resolution 4240 of 2000], and citizens.

Colombia is a signatory to Decision 460 of the Andean Community, a regional agreement on the Protection and Recovery of cultural goods which are part of the archaeological, historical, ethnological, palaeontological and artistic heritage of the Andean region; and has established bilateral agreements forbidding illegal trafficking with Russia and Lithuania. Ratification of the UNIDROIT Agreement and the Florence Agreement are imminent.

b. Public Education
Several agencies cooperate on various efforts to stop illegal trafficking of cultural objects, making use of innovative partnerships among museums, culture centers, state institutions, universities, communities, and the media. As assigned by the Ministry of Culture, ICANH plays a central role in a broad range of programs aimed at the general public as well as specialized audiences, including education, training, research, inventories, didactic exhibitions, and public information campaigns.

c. Archaeology, Museology, and Conservation
While academic archaeology in Colombia came into its own only in the 1980s, courses in theoretical and practical anthropology and archaeology are now taught at the Externado, National, Los Andes, Antioquia, Cauca, and Caldas universities. Others are in the process of setting up similar university courses. Currently, museology courses are offered at Javeriana, Externado de Colombia, Tadeo Lozano and National universities. A Masters level museology course is being set up in the University of Cartagena.

The ongoing conservation of research and exhibition collections is the responsibility of ICANH and the 50+ museums in the country, in which security and environmental controls [i.e. preventive conservation] are of the highest priority. Conservation of monuments and sites is programmed by ICANH, and supported by its own revenues, entry fees from archaeological parks, the Ministry of Culture, UNESCO [in the case of World Heritage Sites], and - on a limited basis - The Foundation for National Archaeological Research [FIAN]. Conservation expertise is available from ICANH and some universities, including the Universidad Externado de Colombia, which offers the only program in objects conservation. ICANH has partnered with various international and foreign-based foundations and organizations for the purpose of enhancing training for working conservators, registrars, and museum professionals.

d. Professional Development
Certain standards have been established to ensure best practices in fields affecting the archaeological and colonial heritage. First, all archaeological research in Colombia is undertaken only with permits issued by ICANH to registered and qualified archaeologists, following the submission, peer review, and approval of research plans, project descriptions, logistical and staffing details. The applicant is required to ensure that the archaeological interventions are adequately staffed and capable of evaluating the impact of the project, and protecting archaeological information. ICANH publishes a "Manual of Preventive Archaeology", which defines minimum criteria for authorizing archaeological interventions.

As part of The National Campaign Against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Goods, the Heritage Division of the Ministry of Culture created and promotes a training program course entitled Toward valuing and protecting movable cultural heritage, available to customs agents, police, prosecutors, art merchants, gallery owners, educators, etc., to familiarize them with the heritage and improve their abilities to protect the cultural heritage. The publication of this course is one of a series of documents [print, maps, photographs, posters, CDs, and cassettes] on the various activities of this Campaign.

ICANH works closely with ICOM, UNESCO, InterPol, and NGOs, as well as several private foundations to develop and offer professional capacity-building programs on heritage protection topics for a range of specialized audiences, including the Civil Aeronautics Authority and law-enforcement agencies.

e. The National Museums System
With Law 397 [1997], the Government established that the National Museum of Colombia, as a Special Administrative Unit of the Ministry of Culture, is responsible for the oversight of existing museums, ensuring their ability to educate their audiences and protect their collections, and stimulating their active involvement in national, regional and local cultural life and identity.

The National Museums Network of the Ministry of Culture has organized museology seminars in Bogotá, Medellin and Pasto where all those involved with and interested in museums have been invited to participate. Among their objectives is enhancing the abilities of the regional museums to operate effectively within the limits of their human and financial resources.

One of the actions for strengthening museums is training personnel in a range of different museological and museographical areas. In that sense, the National Museums Network has drawn up a plan for regional seminars, which stems from the conviction that training those involved in day-to-day museums activities is the first step toward understanding the functions and missions of these institutions and improving the services and activities they offer to the visiting public.

The seminar "sustainable museums for the development of their communities" provides basic instruments related to each one of the areas that make up a museum, presents strategies for the museums to work together with their communities in the development of productive projects, and stimulates the generation of networks to improve their management.

5. CATEGORIES OF OBJECTS VULNERABLE TO PILLAGE
Colombia considers categories of both pre-Columbian and Colonial cultural material to be particularly vulnerable to pillage. The pre-Columbian archaeological material includes, but is not limited to, certain categories of stone sculpture, including rock art; pottery, including figurines and vessels; gold; and categories of objects of perishable materials including wood, bone, and fiber, including textiles. The request also covers Colonial period artifacts, including, but not limited to, oil paintings, polychrome sculpture, and silver objects of decorative and liturgical purposes.