Potential Memorandum of Understanding between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities
The Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center has become aware that confusion exists concerning a potential MOU between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities. Such an agreement would differ from the type of MOU made under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention for import restrictions on certain categories of cultural materials. The Department understands that the MOU presently under discussion by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement concerns information exchange and not import restrictions. If the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt requests an agreement pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, the Department of State would announce receipt of such a request in the Federal Register. This procedure is the only means currently available to a country wishing U.S. import restrictions on its cultural property.

Cultural Heritage Center Recognized by US/ ICOMOS and Secretary Clinton
The U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) has recognized the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center with the first annual Heritage Award for International Excellence. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock received the award on behalf of the Cultural Heritage Center on November 9th at a reception at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. The award recognizes the Center’s programs that help protect and preserve the world’s cultural heritage. (Media Note)

When Assistant Secretary Stock conveyed the US/ICOMOS award to the Director and staff of the Cultural Heritage Center, she also presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the Center from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who cited the positive impact of the Center’s work, and noted the 10th anniversary of the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

International Cultural Property Protection

Meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee
The Cultural Property Advisory Committee will convene on January 17-20, 2012, to consider the proposal to extend the MOU with Peru, and the proposal to extend the MOU with Cyprus. An open session of the meeting will be held on January 18, from 9:00 to 11:30 AM, when comments from interested parties on either or both of these proposals may be presented to the Committee. Full information on making arrangements to attend the open session, on submitting comments to the Committee, and on the requisite content of such comments may be found in the Federal Register (PDF) notice published on December 7, 2011. The Committee will also continue, in closed session, its consideration of the recent request from Belize for a bilateral agreement.

MOU with Greece Goes into Effect
On July 17, 2011, the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hellenic Republic entered into a bilateral agreement (PDF) or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to protect categories of archaeological material from the Upper Paleolithic Period through the 15th century A.D. and Byzantine ecclesiastical ethnological material through the 15th century A.D. Following completion by the Government of the Hellenic Republic of all internal legal requirements, the agreement entered into force on November 21, 2011 with the exchange of diplomatic notes. Please see the Greece information page for further details.

MOU with Bolivia is Extended
With the completion on November 11, 2011, of an exchange of diplomatic notes between the governments of the United States and the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the MOU in force since December 2001 was extended for an additional term of five years. Please see the Bolivia information page for details.

Meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee met November 15-17, 2011. The meeting included a ceremony at which the members were sworn in by Assistant Secretary Ann Stock. The Assistant Secretary welcomed new Committee Chair Patty Gerstenblith and thanked Katharine Lee Reid for her valuable service as Chair for the past three years.

During the meeting, the Committee begin its consideration of two new requests from the governments of Belize and Bulgaria, made under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, for import restrictions on certain categories of cultural materials. An open session was held on November 16, from 9 AM to 12 noon, when oral public comment was heard from the following:

Public Comments on Belize

• Daniels, Brian – University of Pennsylvania Cultural Heritage Center
• Gilgan, Elizabeth – Public
• Knerly, Stephen J. – Association of Art Museum Directors
• Luke Roosevelt, Christina – Archaeological Institute of Americas, Cultural Policy Committee
• McAnany, Patricia – Society for American Archaeology

Public Comments on Bulgaria

• Clinton, Kevin – American Research Center Bulgaria
• Daniels, Brian – University of Pennsylvania Cultural Heritage Center
• Elkins, Nathan – Baylor University
• Knerly, Stephen J. – Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)
• Luke Roosevelt, Christina – Archaeological Institute of America, Cultural Policy Committee
• Tompa, Peter – International Association of Professional Numismatists
• Wetterstrom, Kerry – Ancient Coin Collectors Guild

Given that most of the members are newly appointed, the Committee agenda also included an orientation for new members as well as ethics and security briefings.

The MOU with Colombia is Extended and Amended
The US and Colombia completed an exchange of diplomatic notes on March 1, 2011, effecting the extension for another five years of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that imposes import restrictions on certain categories of pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts and ecclesiastical ethnological materials originating in Colombia. The extension becomes effective on March 15, 2011, and will be in force until 2016. This decision was in keeping with the recommendation of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which met in October to consider the proposal to extend the MOU. Article II has been revised. For further information, please see the Colombia Information page, and its links.

United States Extends and Amends the MOU with Italy
The United States of America and Italy have exchanged diplomatic notes extending – for an additional five-year period – and amending the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that imposes import restrictions on categories of archaeological material representing Pre-Classical, Classical, and Imperial Roman periods of Italy.  The MOU first entered into force January 19, 2001.

Also, in response to a diplomatic note from Italy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amended the metals category of the Designated List of restricted categories to include coins of Italian types produced from the 9th century B.C. to 37 A.D.  Coins are a significant and inseparable part of the archaeological record, and thus are especially valuable to understanding the history of Italy.  The unauthorized search for coins in Italy is exacerbated by metal detecting, an activity that leads to the destruction of fragile archaeological deposits.

The amended Designated List (PDF) was published January 19, 2011, in the Federal Register. Please refer to the Media Note and the Italy information page for further information.

Agreement with Nicaragua is Extended
The United States and Nicaragua have agreed to extend the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material from the Pre-Hispanic Cultures of the Republic of Nicaragua. Further information can be found on the Nicaragua information page.

A New, Greener Way for the Public to Submit Written Comments
A new procedure for submitting written comments (PDF) on matters before the Committee will be used for these meetings. It is also described in the Federal Register notice (PDF) on the CPAC meeting.

Repatriation of Khmer Sculptures to Cambodia
Seven Khmer statues were repatriated to Cambodia on 15 June 2010. The sandstone sculptures were recovered by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials during a 2008 raid in Los Angeles. They arrived in Cambodia aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy. (See photograph of Department of State Under Secretary William Burns at the repatriation; Story at Artdaily.org)

The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation

Watch Secretary Clinton speak about the AFCP.

AFCP 2010 Awards Announced
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation awarded nearly $6 million in grants to cultural heritage preservation projects in 52 countries and the West Bank. (For details, visit the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, read the Media Note, and browse the Project Lists.)

Iraq Cultural Heritage Initiative

Assessment of Babylon
A Report is now available that details damage assessments carried out between 2004 and 2009 at the ancient site of Babylon in southern Iraq. The Report informs the ongoing Department of State preservation project for the site of Babylon, contributing critical documentation for the plan for the management and preservation at the site, being developed by World Monuments Fund in partnership with the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Please see the Iraq Cultural Heritage Initiative page for further information and a link to the Report.

Special Projects

Ghazni Towers Documentation Project
State-of-the-art laser scanning documentation of two 12th-century AD towers in Ghazni, Afghanistan was undertaken in July 2011 with funding from the Cultural Heritage Center and the U.S. Embassy Kabul. Architects from the U.S. National Park Service’s Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) carried out the rigorous fieldwork with the endorsement of the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture. Further information can be found on the Special Projects page.