The Asia Society Announces September Summit with the Antiquities Coalition to Tackle Cultural Racketeering

Press Release from the Asia Society

NEW YORK, August 4, 2015 — Asia Society is pleased to join UNESCO, the Antiquities Coalition and the Middle East Institute in a special high-level forum in New York City on September 24, 2015 titled “Culture Under Threat: The Security, Economic and Cultural Impact of Antiquities Trafficking and Terrorist Financing.”

The forum is part of a major new initiative to find regional solutions to the recent surge in the destruction and looting of antiquities across the Middle East. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, His Excellency the Foreign Minister of Iraq Dr. Ibrahim Al-Jaafari and Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd will deliver remarks. Asia Society President Josette Sheeran and Antiquities Coalition Chairman Deborah Lehr will serve as co-chairs and hosts of this historic event, which will feature delegations from the nations most affected by the theft and destruction of these treasures, as well as the heads of leading cultural organizations. The forum will feature the keynote addresses, public discussion, and a private dialogue to chart action for the future. All events will be held from 8:30am-11:30am at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue in New York.

It has been a time of particular turmoil in the Middle East. While the loss of human life resulting from instability is tragic, so are the attacks by militants and organized criminals on local cultures, and the damage done to some of the great treasures of antiquity. The destruction of historic sites and looting of antiquities are now widespread across the Middle East, from Egypt to Iraq to Syria and Libya – the region on which the foundations of human civilization were laid. These attacks constitute a form of “cultural terrorism” – indeed some are calling them “war crimes” – and the illicit trafficking of these antiquities is being used to fund the causes of terrorist and criminal networks.

What can leaders in the region, international agencies, and the heads of global cultural organizations do to reverse these attacks against our shared history and heritage? This gathering will focus on answers that question – whether they involve diplomacy or law enforcement, education or military action, or some combination. The forum will convene the finest minds and most effective policymakers to the table, to at least begin to find answers to this pressing global problem.

Beyond the guests listed above, among those already confirmed for the “Culture Under Threat” forum:

Ahmed Abdulkariem, Chairman, Department of Antiquities, Libya; Roger Bagnall, Leon Levy Director, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University; Anita Difanis, Director of Government Affairs, Association of Art Museum Directors; Amy Freitag, Executive Director, J.M. Kaplan Fund; Charles J. Henry, President, Council on Library and Information Resources; Josh Knerly, Partner, Hahn, Loeser & Parker; Amy Landau, Associate Curator of Islamic and South Asian Art, The Walters Art Museum; Edward Liebow, Executive Director, American Anthropological Association; Ken Lustbader, Program Director of Historic Preservation, J.M. Kaplan Fund; David MacKay, Partner and Head of U.S. Operations, Portland Communications; Emily K. Rafferty, President Emerita, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Maggie Salem, Executive Director, Qatar Foundation International; Patrick Sears, Executive Director, Rubin Museum of Art; Brigadier General Hugh Van Roosen, Director, Institute for Military Governance (IMSG), U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School; and Karol Wight, President and Executive Director, Corning Museum of Glass.

“Culture Under Threat” will build on issues raised at a conference in Cairo in May, 2015, at which officials from the Middle and Near East pledged to take several initial steps:

• The creation of a “Cultural Racketeering Task Force” consisting of senior representatives from various countries to coordinate regional and international efforts to protect cultural property and prevent smuggling and repatriate stolen artifacts;

• The establishment of an International Advisory Committee to provide advice and support for the task force on ways to fight cultural destruction and illicit trafficking;

• The launch of an awareness campaign in so-called “demand countries” to discourage purchases of looted antiquities;

• Various possible regional and international partnerships to address various aspects of the problem.

For further information about this event, contact pr@asiasociety.org.

Introducing the Antiquities Coalition’s New Video Series, “Culture Under Threat: Terrorism and Profiteering”

The Antiquities Coalition is launching our first video series! Titled, “Culture Under Threat: Terrorism and Profiteering,” it features international experts offering solutions to and analysis of the looting crisis, illicit antiquities trade, and its connection to terrorism. The series is premiering today on the Antiquities Coalition’s website at theantiquitiescoalition.org.

The Antiquities Coalition’s recent Cairo Conference brought together an unprecedented group to tackle cultural racketeering

and terrorist financing. Ministers from ten Middle East and North African countries, international experts, and our co-hosts from the Middle East Institute, UNESCO, and the Arab Republic of Egypt convened to seek solutions and discuss implementation of a comprehensive plan to confront the depredations caused by terrorist and criminal syndicates across the MENA region. The result was the Cairo Declaration, an agreement signed by all ten countries that commits them to a joint effort to stop terrorist funding and cultural destruction.

The “Culture Under Threat” videos were shot at the Cairo conference and feature top international experts, including UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldmaty, and Antiquities Coalition Chair Deborah Lehr. The series begins with Iraqi Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Adel Fahad Shershab, who puts the crisis in a global context, reminding the world that an international response is required to help Iraq stop the threat from the so-called Islamic State.

The Antiquities Coalition will publish new videos in the series weekly to our website and YouTube channel. To subscribe to this free series — and be kept informed of upcoming Antiquities Coalition events — please email CultureUnderThreat@theAntiquitiesCoalition.org.

Turning Global Resolve Into Global Action: The Antiquities Coalition Joins UN Ambassadors for Emergency Roundtable in New York

"Unanimous" doesn’t happen easily or often in the 193-member UN General Assembly.

It did last week when the United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution condemning ISIS’ barbaric destruction and looting of the cultural heritage of Iraq.

Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim, the sophisticated and determined representative from Iraq, is the force behind this new effort at the United Nations.  In an impressive act of multilateral diplomacy, he shepherded a strongly worded resolution through the challenging UN process, declaring ISIS’ intentional destruction of culture a “tactic of war” and calling on all nations to join together to fight against the erasure of our common heritage.  

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said the resolution represents a "turning point" in the mobilization of the international community against the destruction of cultural heritage.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said the coordinated action, improved information sharing and legal action would start to slow the tide of senseless extremism against the past, present and future of human civilization.

Following the resolution, to further turn global resolve into global action, Italy and Jordan’s UN ambassadors brought colleagues together with experts from the Antiquities Coalition, UNESCO, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, Interpol and the Carabinieri, the famed Italian police force who are world leaders in cultural law enforcement.  

Antiquities Coalition chair Deborah Lehr, also invited to attend, said “We are facing a crisis that requires the political will on behalf of each country to come together to seek solutions.  There are practical steps that countries can take individually and together to help stop this illicit looting.”

Countries as diverse as Poland, Ghana, Hungary, Mali, Russia and the United States spoke out in unity behind the need for action.  Ambassadors shared lessons learned from the destruction of culture in their own countries and how they might be relevant when facing today’s issues.  The representative from Turkey, the major transshipment point for illicit antiquities from Syria and Iraq, said her country is now strengthening protections at its borders, increasing training for its customs officers and alerting museums, dealers and others purchasers that they will take strong action against those who are dealing in looted antiquities.

ISIS seems to have taken notice.  They boasted, in a page right out of Nazi history, that they will now destroy “only” antiquities which present a world view other than their own. They even named a sham “antiquities minister.”

We are not fooled. The world is not fooled.  The world must not – will not — allow this cultural genocide-for-profit to continue.  Declaring intent in Cairo, upping that to unanimous global resolve at the UN and following up with pledges of international action are a launching pad to slow ISIS funding and neutralize one reason for the terrorists’ barbarous acts. 

The world is showing ever-increasing and unanimous resolve: ISIS destruction, intimidation and profiteering will not be allowed to stand.

2015 Cairo Conference: Cultural Property Under Threat

TEN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES ANNOUNCE CAIRO DECLARATION, TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT THE WAR CRIME OF LOOTING AND THE DESTRUCTION OF HERITAGE

As the Islamic State continued its march of destruction across Iraq and Syria, ten Ministers from Middle East and Northern Africa countries joined together at the Cairo Conference on May 13-14 to announce an action plan in the fight against culture under threat. 

The issuance of the Cairo Declaration, the first communiqué of its kind in historic preservation, commits these ten countries to specific actions that will help protect and preserve their priceless artifacts as well as raise awareness globally about the plight of conflict antiquities. The Arab State of Egypt hosted this event as part of its critical campaign in the fight against religious extremism.  The Antiquities Coalition is proud to be a partner in this initiative.

During the opening remarks, the four conference sponsors emphasized the urgent nature of the threat, and called for swift action.  Irina Bokova, Secretary General of UNESCO, called these attacks against heritage  “a Crime of War.” Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Mahmoud el-Damaty highlighted the organized aspects of the antiquities looting and how Egypt had suffered since the January 2011 revolution. 

Wendy Chamberlin, chairman of the Middle East Institute, noted the important role that non-governmental organizations can play in supporting countries during a time of crisis such as the one occurring in heritage.  Finally, Deborah Lehr, Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition, stated, “These extremists are using attacks against culture as a means to intimidate those who enjoy beliefs and histories that differ from their narrow and radical religious interpretations, as well as to fund their nefarious causes.  Together, we are stronger than being alone.  We seek solutions – not just discussion of the problems.”

Over twenty leading experts from heritage law, counter terrorism, law enforcement, archaeology international organizations, and regional specialists also participated to share their experiences with the Ministers and their delegations. General themes emerged from the discussions with the experts and countries. 

These themes included:

·      Sense of Urgency:  the destruction and looting of antiquities by terrorist organizations and criminal networks creates a crisis that requires immediate action from the region as well as from the international community

·      Regional approach:  countries agreed on the need to address the threat as a region, not just as individual countries.

·      More than war zones:  the crisis extends beyond Iraq/Syria to most of the countries in attendance.  Solutions need to address those not just in immediate crisis, but also under attack by criminal organizations and cultural racketeers.

·      Awareness raising:  public awareness campaigns should be launched.  Internationally, to link purchases of illicit antiquities from the region to terrorist financing and in Cairo Conference countries to help the local communities understand the importance of protecting heritage, especially training for children.

·      Use of international and domestic law: several countries voiced concern about the provisions of existing law to address heritage protection in times of crisis.  While there was no consensus around calls for a new international convention, there was general agreement that the international provisions need to be strengthened and clarified to find ways to better help countries facing a crisis in heritage.

A task force is being established immediately to being implementation of this historic agreement.  The Antiquities Coalition and its partners will be an important collaborator in this effort.

Seeking Common Ground: Digging for Answers

Heritage experts from government, academia and NGOs came together in Washington on April 17 at a workshop and public seminar to explore possible solutions to the critical issues surrounding protection of heritage in times of conflict. The conference, titled “Cultural Heritage: Conflict and Reconciliation” was held at the Smithsonian Castle and the Freer Gallery of Art and co-hosted by the Smithsonian and University of Chicago’s Cultural Policy Center.

The speakers identified concerns related to how best to work with the role of the military and law enforcement during times of conflict, how best to define the scope of illicit trafficking, and how best to coordinate among the three pillars of government, academia and NGOs in order to promote cooperation, not competition. While many of issues surfaced, no clear path was decided upon for moving forward and encouraging greater cooperation.

In the public portion of the program, David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group and Regent of the Smithsonian, moderated a distinguished panel including the event’s host, Smithsonian Under Secretary Richard Kurin, Mounir Bouchenaki, Director of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage, Emily Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and George Papagiannis, the U.S. Representative of UNESCO.

The panelists all agree that the field is facing a crisis with the destruction and looting of heritage sites in the Middle East by extremists. And while action needs to be taken, it is a challenge even for major global organizations to help during times of active conflict. The discussion can be viewed here.

The interview was followed by a moderated discussion of the day’s themes that included Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, Maria Kouroupas, State Department Director of the Cultural Heritage Center, Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Professor of Law at DePaul University, Bill Ivey, former head of the National Endowment of the Arts and China Liaison for the American Folklore Society and Deborah Lehr, Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition. The moderator was Rob Albro, a Research Associate Professor at American University and Washington DC representative of the University of Chicago Cultural Policy Center.

The discussions focused on two key questions: is there a growing awareness of the need to protect heritage and how can we establish a better policy mechanism in the US to promote greater interagency cooperation and international outreach to address this growing challenge?

Overall, the discussants agreed that with the advent of extremism in the Middle East and the subsequent attacks against cultural heritage, there was increased awareness among policy makers internationally and the general public about antiquities looting, trafficking and destruction. There is still a need for those in the heritage field to come together to develop strategies of how best to support countries during times of crisis, and certainly how to execute those strategies.

The Antiquities Coalition (AC) was honored to be part of the overall discussion. Its themes provide an excellent foundation for an upcoming event hosted by the AC in Cairo. In cooperation with the Arab Republic of Egypt, The Middle East Institute, and UNESCO, the Antiquities Coalition will be co-hosting a conference in Cairo addressing “Culture Under Threat” May 13-14, 2015. You can find more information about the conference HERE. The Antiquities Coalition is dedicated to finding solutions to the threats of looting, trafficking and destruction that are facing cultural heritage today.

More Than Collateral Damage: The Systematic Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Yemen’s Civil War

Yemen

The current fight for Yemen’s future comes at a very high price for its citizens. Yemenis are suffering loss of life, loss of their homes and possessions, and a systematic loss and destruction of their rich and unique heritage. The protection of human life takes first priority in times of conflict, but the loss of Yemen’s culture and history is far from collateral damage. It is an irreplaceable resource, integral to Yemenis and part of the story we all share. And the fate of Yemen’s sites, objects, landscapes, and folkways are under threat caused by all out civil war.

What is at Risk?

Yemen is a country with a rich heritage and background. Called Arabia Felix or Arabia Eudaimon by the Romans and Greeks, (that’s Happy Arabia in English), the flourishing cities of South Arabia are mentioned several times in the Bible Today the area is mainly known as the legendary land of the Queen of Sheba, known locally as Bilqis, and her capital at Marib. In the 1st millennium BCE, South Arabia became home to four major kingdoms (Saba, Ma’in, Hadramaut, and the Qataban). Most of these kingdoms were involved in the trade of incense and other spices, leading to legendary wealth. Archaeological fieldwork uncovered traces of much older civilizations as well.

The province of Marib northwest of Yemen’s capital Sanaa has a multitude of sites including the ancient city of Sirwah, but also other imposing temples, mosques and residential buildings. The great dam, al ‘Arem, is an engineering masterpiece, and is featured on local currency as a sign of construction and prosperity. Construction of the first Marib dam began around 750 BCE. In later times, the dam height was increased to 45 feet with walls of 25 feet. The dam was designed to divert water into channels, which allowed the irrigation of 25,000 acres. Yemeni heritage professionals, with contributions from German colleagues, have long collaborated in the preservation of sites in the Marib region.

Yemen’s magnificent cultural and natural patrimony includes entire villages, a large number of museums, mausoleums, castles, churches, mosques, libraries, parks, and both land and underwater heritage sites. Entire camel cemeteries from the first millennium BCE have been identified. There is an extremely wide array of sites and intangible and tangible heritage traditions in Yemen and the islands in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean (Socotra).

By 2014, Yemen had four UNESCO World Heritage sites, while ten more sites and regions have been on the tentative list since 2002. South Arabian architects and artists produced extraordinary temple architectures, bronze-work and alabaster statues. There are exceptional collections of manuscripts and Korans kept in museums and libraries, information on some of which has been compiled in the recent international collaborative Yemeni Manuscript Digitization Initiative (YMDI), and by European colleagues working in collaboration with Yemeni colleagues.

What’s Been Lost

During civil unrest in 1994, entire museums were emptied, showcases were broken and materials looted from Lahej/Hawta, Habilayn and the Wadi Beihan. Thousands of inscriptions, alabaster statues from graveyards and cemeteries, and manuscripts were sold into the black market by cultural racketeers.

A new heritage crisis developed after the toppling of Ali Abdullah Saleh, during the Arab Spring. A transitional period began in 2011 when citizens, particularly young people, protested on the streets against corruption and traditional political parties. In April 2012, Abdullah Awbal, then Yemeni Minister for Culture reported on looting and the illegal sales of cultural materials. Concerned officials have repeatedly stated that the country’s heritage is at risk of looting from specialized and highly trained groups, focused particularly on manuscripts and antiquities that can be easily moved. Limited local and international support and funding leads to a lack of security in some of the regional museums, as well as key heritage sites.

Many archaeological sites, especially prehistoric cemeteries, remain undiscovered or improperly documented, and are thus vulnerable. Losing more of the ornate sculptures that once adorned the sanctuaries and tomb complexes to further looting and trafficking would do irreparable harm to the future of South Arabia and to the loss of our common heritage.

The Situation Today

Interest in Yemeni antiquities and materials is in part due to the association of sites or personalities with biblical stories and Islamic traditions. The devastation of Yemen’s cultural heritage caused by the illicit trade in antiquities is among the most severe in the Arab-speaking world. Citizens driven by poverty and the interests of rich collectors destroy Yemen’s most valuable non-renewable resource.

With the advent of new conflict, Yemen’s cultural heritage is in grave danger. The combined crisis of a lack of security for heritage, a crippling economic situation and a battle for control of the country puts this region’s rich and unique history at severe risk. It is unfortunately following in the footsteps of other regions in the Middle East, including Iraq and Syria, where their precious heritage is being sold to the highest bidders in international markets. It is time for leaders in the region — and the international community — to come together protect Yemeni heritage in this time of crisis.

Cultural Property: Current Problems Meet Established Law

A Conference jointly presented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation and the Penn Cultural Heritage Center, University of Pennsylvania

Thursday 26 March 2015 – Friday 27 March 2015

As the looting and destruction of archaeological sites and museums reaches unprecedented levels in Iraq and Syria — a crisis that Egypt, UNESCO, the Middle East Institute, and the Antiquities Coalition will be tackling head on in Cairo next month — the role of law in mitigating these atrocities has never been more significant.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP) explored this topic at their 6th annual conference, “Cultural Property: Current Problems Meet Established Law,” last week in Philadelphia. This event, graciously hosted by the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the University of Pennsylvania, sought to address a wide range of heritage issues — from treasure hunting and underwater looting, to collecting ethics among museums, to emergency responses in times of conflict. The conference assembled a group of highly regarded speakers including lawyers, curators, archaeologists, scholars, and Antiquities Coalition Executive Director Tess Davis.

The first keynote address was given by Dr. Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Research Professor of Law at DePaul University, on the adequacy of US law, policy, and practice in preventing the looting and trafficking of antiquities. Dr. Gerstenblith surveyed the current state of the field, highlighting key cases in the courts, and illustrating the top legal tools for combatting cultural racketeering. The second keynote address was delivered by Dr. Mariano J. Aznar-Gomez of the University of Jaume I in Castellon, Spain and is legal expert on the protection of underwater cultural heritage for the Spanish Government. Dr. Aznar-Gomez investigated the compatibility of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) and the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001, demonstrating how policymakers can prevent underwater looting in accordance with both Conventions.

The other panels included topics such as archaeological site looting and the legal response from Cambodia to Iraq to Spain and beyond, both terrestrial and underwater. This was followed by a lunchtime discussion on collecting ethics and the museum response to the legal environment by three museum directors and senior curators. The discussion then turned to methods and responsibilities to due diligence in provenance research and finally to how the law may enable international support in the case of Syria.

The conference concluded on the note that criminal litigation, public awareness, and communication among those working in the heritage field are paramount in devising strategies to protect the world’s cultural heritage. It was also clear from the day's proceedings that such strategies are needed more now than ever, as the world's cultural heritage falls under increased attack from crime and conflict. Numerous speakers warned that the situation has reached crisis levels in the Middle East, with ISIS and other terrorist networks trafficking countless antiquities to fund their campaign, and destroying countless others for propaganda.

In response to this ongoing plunder, the Antiquities Coalition is partnering with the Arab Republic of Egypt, UNESCO, and the Middle East Institute to shut down ISIS funding from antiquities looting and trafficking. We will launch this initiative with an emergency conference in Cairo from May 13-14, 2015. Please stay tuned for more information about this 2015 Cairo Conference.

In the meantime, the Antiquities Coalition thanks the LCCHP and PCHC for last week's informative event, and looks forward to their future collaborations!