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

Cairo Conference Group 05 2015

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.

Heritage in Crisis discussed on The Jim Bohannon Show (AUDIO)

Jim Bohanon Show header

Heritage in Crisis discussed on The Jim Bohannon Show (AUDIO)

Friday, May 22, 2015

Antiquities segment starts at 40:25

On The Jim Bohannon Show… Last June, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its Clean Power Plan, which would limit carbon-dioxide emissions from existing fossil-fuel-fired power plants. According to a new report released today by the nonpartisan Energy Information Administration, the Plan would “modestly” reduce the power sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. Critics of the Plan, including Republican lawmakers and some industry trade groups, say the power-generation industry will suffer a significant loss of jobs – caused by the inevitable closing of fossil-fuel-fired plants – for relatively little environmental gain. They also argue that the Plan represents a vast overreach by the Federal government, usurping the power of the states to regulate in their own best interests. The EPA countered this argument, calling it just the latest advance in using the existing Clean Air Act to establish public health goals while allowing the states the flexibility in how they choose to comply, based on each state’s needs. We’ll discuss the issue tonight with Thomas Lindsay (@TomLindsayTPPF) of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

We’ve all seen the pictures of the cultural artifacts in Iraq and Syria that have been destroyed by ISIS forces when they take control of regions housing them. They claim they are ordered by Allah to destroy evidence of worship of other gods, but the result is, in effect, an eradication of the region’s cultural heritage, which stretches back at least nine centuries before Christ. Archeologists are appalled at the ISIS track record of demolishing and desecrating priceless pre-Islamic antiquities, and they are aghast at what might happen now that ISIS has control of the Syrian town of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that contains treasures dating back to the First Century A.D., including The Temple of Bel, the ruins of the Grand Colonnade, Hadrian’s Gate (named for the Roman emperor who visited Palmyra in 129 A.D.), and much more. We’ll talk about why ISIS feels the need to eliminate history with Deborah Lehr (@DMLehr), co-founder of the Antiquities Coalition, which was formed in 2011 to partner archaeologists, authors, curators, museum directors, and others with other concerned organizations to prevent the destruction of the human race’s cultural heritage anywhere in the world.

Islamic State threatens ancient Syrian site with destruction

USA today logo

Islamic State threatens ancient Syrian site with destruction

Gregg Zoroya, Rasha Faek and Riham Kusa, USA TODAY | 4:45 p.m. EDT May 21, 2015

Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 1.34.07 PMAMMAN, Jordan — Dread swept through the archaeological world Thursday following the Islamic State’s capture of Palmyra in Syria, placing one of the world’s most treasured sites for ancient history at risk for looting or destruction.

“I am deeply concerned by the situation,” said Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, the United Nations directorate working to safeguard global heritage sites.

Palmyra is the site of an ancient Roman city astride the legendary Silk Road caravan route to the Far East. Ruins dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries and preserved by the desert climate include the Temple of Bel, built on an axis allowing the rising sun to fill the interior with natural light.

As a pagan site, it would be the prime target for Islamic State extremists, said Amr Al-Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio.

The militants have declared creation of a new spiritual caliphate straddling the borders of Iraq and Syria and are committed to eradicating non-Islamic icons of the past. Members have destroyed captured antiquities, burned manuscripts and bombed monasteries and churches.

They’ve distributed video of fighters pushing over statuary that shattered into pieces. Fighters have also looted ancient sites, selling artifacts to raise money for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

“It’s a very powerful propaganda message,” said Al-Azm. “What it says is that ISIS can act with impunity, that they are very powerful and at the same time, the other half of the message is that the international community is impotent.”

A partial view of the theater in Palmyra. (Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images)
A partial view of the theater in Palmyra. (Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images)

The group has seized more than half of Syria, taking control of more than 36,000 square miles of the country and the “vast majority” of its gas and oil fields, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Capturing Palmyra, home to some 200,000 people, allows the Islamic State a more direct route to Damascus and the Syrian Coast.

The success by the militants comes just two days after Islamic State forces captured the provincial capital of Ramadi in Iraq, driving back government forces there.

Palmyra was given up to Islamic State militants by retreating and dispirited Syrian forces. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest lamented the capture was a “setback” Thursday, but said the U.S., without ground troops in Syria, is all but powerless to intervene. “Our capacity there is limited. There is no doubt about that,” Earnest said.

Scholars hold out little hope Palmyra will be liberated any time soon. “We think it’s a horrific development,” said Deborah Lehr, chair and founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Antiquities Coalition, a non-profit group devoted to fighting the destruction of heritage sites.

Lehr said destruction of the temples and tombs of Palmyra would rival, in the world’s view, the dynamiting by the Taliban in 2001 of soaring Buddha statues in Afghanistan.

“Culture is a critical part of who we are as a people,” she said. “The symbolism of it is an attack against us a people, and they’re actually an act of war.”

People ride bicycles near ruins in the ancient city in this photo from 2014. (Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images)
People ride bicycles near ruins in the ancient city in this photo from 2014. (Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images)

At least some of the antiquities were spirited away to Damascus, said Abo Adel, a Syrian rebel activist in Palmyra who has worked with other locals from the city to document the looting and the destruction at the archeological site.

“We’re afraid over the columns, tombs and temples — they can destroy the tombs after getting them out of the ground,” he said. “Nobody knows what their plan but I don’t think they can damage the antiquities as they did in Iraq — there are not many statues (left).”

Maamoun Abdulkarim, director of antiquities and museums in Syria, said his department had lost contact with residents of Palmyra and cannot assess the risk to the antiquities.

“I feel panic when I imagine what could ISIS do in Palmyra? They will destroy the temples and tombs — Tamourian tombs have statues which ISIS will consider as idols (that) should be demolished,” he said.

The towering structures of Roman-Greco architecture there have stood for centuries, safeguarded by previous conquering forces that recognized its historical value. But there was little hope this respect for ancient historical heritage would withstand destruction or looting by the militants.

Prior to the Syrian war that began four years ago, tourists by the thousands visited the remote desert location.

“Defending the archaeology sites from looting and destruction is a battle for of all humanity,” the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Egypt said in a statement. “The destruction of humanitarian and cultural heritage is forbidden in Islam.”

Zoroya reported from McLean, Va.; Kusa reported from Berlin. Contributing: Ammar Al Shamary in Baghdad.

PDF of article here

Islamic State threatens ancient Syrian site with destruction

USA today logo

Islamic State threatens ancient Syrian site with destruction
Gregg Zoroya, Rasha Faek and Riham Kusa, USA TODAY 4:45 p.m. EDT May 21, 2015

(Photo: SANA via AP)
(Photo: SANA via AP)

AMMAN, Jordan — Dread swept through the archaeological world Thursday following the Islamic State’s capture of Palmyra in Syria, placing one of the world’s most treasured sites for ancient history at risk for looting or destruction.

“I am deeply concerned by the situation,” said Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, the United Nations directorate working to safeguard global heritage sites.

Palmyra is the site of an ancient Roman city astride the legendary Silk Road caravan route to the Far East. Ruins dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries and preserved by the desert climate include the Temple of Bel, built on an axis allowing the rising sun to fill the interior with natural light.

As a pagan site, it would be the prime target for Islamic State extremists, said Amr Al-Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio.

 

ISIS destroying statues - USA today
An image taken from a video released by the Islamic State shows its members destroying parts of a frieze at the ancient Iraqi town of Nimrud near Mosul, Iraq. The video confirms reports that the radical group has completely destroyed the ancient Assyrian ruins which date to the 13th century B.C. Islamic State via European Pressphoto Agency

The militants have declared creation of a new spiritual caliphate straddling the borders of Iraq and Syria and are committed to eradicating non-Islamic icons of the past. Members have destroyed captured antiquities, burned manuscripts and bombed monasteries and churches.

They’ve distributed video of fighters pushing over statuary that shattered into pieces. Fighters have also looted ancient sites, selling artifacts to raise money for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

“It’s a very powerful propaganda message,” said Al-Azm. “What it says is that ISIS can act with impunity, that they are very powerful and at the same time, the other half of the message is that the international community is impotent.”

A partial view of the theater in Palmyra. (Photo: Joseph Eid,AFP/Getty Images)
A partial view of the theater in Palmyra. (Photo: Joseph Eid,AFP/Getty Images)

The group has seized more than half of Syria, taking control of more than 36,000 square miles of the country and the “vast majority” of its gas and oil fields, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Capturing Palmyra, home to some 200,000 people, allows the Islamic State a more direct route to Damascus and the Syrian Coast.

The success by the militants comes just two days after Islamic State forces captured the provincial capital of Ramadi in Iraq, driving back government forces there.

Palmyra was given up to Islamic State militants by retreating and dispirited Syrian forces. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest lamented the capture was a “setback” Thursday, but said the U.S., without ground troops in Syria, is all but powerless to intervene. “Our capacity there is limited. There is no doubt about that,” Earnest said.

Scholars hold out little hope Palmyra will be liberated any time soon. “We think it’s a horrific development,” said Deborah Lehr, chair and founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Antiquities Coalition, a non-profit group devoted to fighting the destruction of heritage sites.

Lehr said destruction of the temples and tombs of Palmyra would rival, in the world’s view, the dynamiting by the Taliban in 2001 of soaring Buddha statues in Afghanistan.

“Culture is a critical part of who we are as a people,” she said. “The symbolism of it is an attack against us a people, and they’re actually an act of war.”

 

People ride bicycles near ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra in this photo from 2014. (Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images)
People ride bicycles near ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra in this photo from 2014. (Photo: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images)

At least some of the antiquities were spirited away to Damascus, said Abo Adel, a Syrian rebel activist in Palmyra who has worked with other locals from the city to document the looting and the destruction at the archeological site.

“We’re afraid over the columns, tombs and temples — they can destroy the tombs after getting them out of the ground,” he said. “Nobody knows what their plan but I don’t think they can damage the antiquities as they did in Iraq — there are not many statues (left).”

Maamoun Abdulkarim, director of antiquities and museums in Syria, said his department had lost contact with residents of Palmyra and cannot assess the risk to the antiquities.

“I feel panic when I imagine what could ISIS do in Palmyra? They will destroy the temples and tombs — Tamourian tombs have statues which ISIS will consider as idols (that) should be demolished,” he said.

The towering structures of Roman-Greco architecture there have stood for centuries, safeguarded by previous conquering forces that recognized its historical value. But there was little hope this respect for ancient historical heritage would withstand destruction or looting by the militants.

Prior to the Syrian war that began four years ago, tourists by the thousands visited the remote desert location.

“Defending the archaeology sites from looting and destruction is a battle for of all humanity,” the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Egypt said in a statement. “The destruction of humanitarian and cultural heritage is forbidden in Islam.”

Zoroya reported from McLean, Va.; Kusa reported from Berlin. Contributing: Ammar Al Shamary in Baghdad.

Culture Under Threat Conference in Cairo: Red Arch Raises Important Questions Posed by U.S. Imports of Art, Collectors’ Pieces, and Antiques

Rick St Hilaire Blog header

Culture Under Threat Conference in Cairo: Red Arch Raises Important Questions Posed by U.S. Imports of Art, Collectors’ Pieces, and Antiques
Cultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire – 21 May 2015

Why did the declared value of U.S. general imports of antiques over 100 years old from Syria climb 133% between 2012 and 2013, from approximately $4.7 million to $11 million?

Why did the declared value of U.S. general imports of antiques over 100 years old from Iraq skyrocket 1302% between 2009 and 2013, from $322,564 to $4,523,126?

These were some of the questions posed by Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law & Policy Research at an historic international summit held in Cairo on May 13 and 14.

AC Cairo Conference
Antiquities Coalition co-founder and Red Arch board member Peter Herdrich (far left) stands with delegates and organizers of the Cultural Property Under Threat conference. Antiquities Coalition Chair Deborah Lehr (7th from right) spearheaded the historic gathering.

Titled Culture Under Threat and cooperatively organized by the Washington, D.C.-based Antiquities Coalition and the Middle East Institute, the conference featured government ministers from ten nations. Together, they signed the Cairo Declaration, a document proposed by Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty, calling for:

  • the establishment of a high-level task force to coordinate regional and international efforts against cultural heritage trafficking,
  • the creation of a public awareness campaign against the black market trade, and
  • the formation of an independent center to combat antiquities laundering.

Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates proffered the Declaration in the wake of widespread plunder and destruction of archaeological, historical, and religious treasures located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

“Criminal networks and terrorist groups have systematically looted historic sites and profited from the sales of these antiquities in international black markets,” the government ministers decried. They further denounced the sale of “blood antiquities,” which help fund ISIS and other terror groups.

In light of the extensive cultural heritage looting in the MENA region and because transnational commodities traffickers have been known to penetrate complex trade systems in order to turn contraband into cash, international trade data presented by Red Arch Research sparked important discussions among conference participants. The data highlighting U.S. imports of nondescript antiques from war-torn Syria and Iraq may prompt law enforcement and customs authorities to confirm or dispel any suspicions raised by the numbers.

Additional questions posed by the trade data include:

Why did the declared value of U.S. general imports of archaeological, historical, or ethnographic pieces from Egypt jump 105.5%, from approximately $5.2 million in 2012 to $10.7 million in 2013, which made Egypt the #2 source of such commodities by value behind the United Kingdom at $11.4 million?

Why did the declared value of U.S. general imports of archaeological, historical, or ethnographic goods from Lebanon spike 4,483%, from $6,546 in 2012 to $300,000 in 2013?

Why did the declared value of U.S. general imports of collectors’ coins (excluding gold coins) surge

  • 82% from Turkey, from approximately $1.7 million in 2012 to $3 million in 2013?
  • 417% from Lebanon, from $54,651 in 2012 to $282,434 in 2013?
  • 2,604% from Libya, from $4,793 in 2012 to $129,620 in 2013?
UN Office of Drugs and Crime Regional Representative Masood Karimipour listens as Red Arch Director Rick St. Hilaire addresses the Cairo conference delegates.
UN Office of Drugs and Crime Regional Representative
Masood Karimipour listens as Red Arch Director Rick St. Hilaire addresses the Cairo conference delegates.

Smugglers have been known to over-value or under-value invoices to disguise money transfers—a practice called trade based money laundering. Criminals also have been known to create shell import and export companies to hide the origins and transfers of illegally trafficked cultural goods. In past years, the CHL blog has chronicled cases where traffickers surreptitiously described Hindu sculptures as“handicrafts” on customs forms, affixed “Made in Thailand” stickers on ancient Ban Chiang pots to make them appear modern, manipulated the description of a Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton from Mongolia as a fossil reptile from Great Britain on import paperwork, or falsely declared ancient Egyptian artifacts as “original sculptures and statuary” from Turkey, the UAE, and other nations. These cases illustrate the Basel Art Trade Guidelines (2012) warning that:

In comparison with other trade sectors, the art market faces a higher risk of exposure to dubious trade practices. This is due to the volume of illegal or legally questionable transactions, which is noticeably higher in this sector than in other globally active markets. Far more serious than shady dealings in a legal grey area, the sector’s shadow economy encompasses issues ranging from looted art, professional counterfeiting and fake certificates to the use of art sales for the purpose of money laundering.

Because the legal art and antiquities marketplace nurtures opacity, placing excessive emphasis on discretion over transparency, a black market temptation exists among smugglers, fences, and launderers to hide drops of illegally acquired goods deep within the sea of legitimate commerce. And the sea is vast. Declared American imports of art, collectors’ pieces, and antiques alone totaled over $9 billion in 2013, crowning the U.S. as the top global importer of commodities classified by this customs heading.

Answers are required to the critical questions lurking behind the import statistics: Who is importing the cultural heritage material? Who are the exporters? Exactly what “antiques,” “archaeological pieces,” and “collectors’ coins” are being shipped to the U.S.? From which archaeological sites and through what transshipment countries? And which imports are legal versus illegal? Indeed, uncovering black market trading pipelines, supply chains, and distribution networks navigating within the legitimate stream of commerce should be a key goal of the Cairo conference delegates as well as INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, dealers and auction houses, and other stakeholders.
________________________

Invaluable research assistance supplied by Keegan Trace Brooks, JD Candidate, Georgia State University. Data assembled by Red Arch Research from statistics collected by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Photos courtesy of the Antiquities Coalition.

PDF of article here

Uniting for heritage

Al-Ahram weekly logo

Issue No.1247, 21 May, 2015      20-05-2015 11:59AM ET


 

Uniting for heritage

An international conference held in Cairo this week is spearheading efforts to protect and preserve the region’s cultural heritage, reports Nevine El-Aref


Screen Shot 2016-07-01 at 11.20.43 AMScreen Shot 2016-07-01 at 11.20.58 AMScreen Shot 2016-07-01 at 11.21.17 AMScreen Shot 2016-07-01 at 11.21.35 AM

Ever since antiquity, cultural heritage has been a casualty of crime and conflict. As long as there have been tombs, there have been tomb raiders and illicit excavations. As long as there have been civilizations, there have been enemy armies bent on plundering them.

As the value of antiquities continues to skyrocket, organized criminals, armed insurgents and terrorist networks have turned to cultural racketeering to fund crime and conflict around the world.

Recent videos on social media showing Islamic State (IS) militants destroying ancient artefacts in Iraq’s museums and blowing up 3,000-year-old temples, destroying priceless heritage, have sent shockwaves through the archaeological community and international organisations.

In some of the videos, militants can be seen taking sledgehammers to the iconic winged bulls of Assyria and sawing apart floral reliefs in the palace of Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud. Afterwards, the entire site was destroyed with explosives.

In an attempt to stand up against such crimes and stop the destruction of ancient temples and artefacts in Iraq by the extremist IS group, as well as the looting and smuggling of antiquities in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya, a two-day conference titled “Culture Under Threat: the Security, Economic and Cultural Impact of Antiquities Theft in the Middle East” was held in Egypt this week.

It was organised by two US-based NGOs, the Antiquities Coalition and the Middle East Institute, in cooperation with Egypt’s ministries of foreign affairs and antiquities and under the joint patronage of UNESCO.

Ten Arab countries attended the conference, including Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Sudan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arabs Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Egypt. The aim of the conference was to step up international efforts to stop the illicit trafficking of cultural objects and antiquities as a means of financing terrorism.

“Egypt holds a special place in UNESCO’s history because it has defined the gold standard in international cooperation for safeguarding the common heritage of humanity — this is precisely the spirit we need to instill today,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said at the conference.

She pointed out that the 1960s salvage campaign for the Nubian temples in Upper Egypt had embodied such cooperation. UNESCO played a major role in the relocation of the monuments.

She added that it is important to see the same cooperation between Egyptian NGOs and the private sector to protect the Middle East’s cultural property and human heritage from looting and destruction, such as is now happening in Iraq and Syria.

Bokova highlighted Egypt’s efforts to regain looted and smuggled artefacts. As she said, “Egypt has succeeded in proving to the whole world its capability to protect its cultural heritage. An example of this is when the public made a human chain to protect the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square on 28 January 2011.”

“We need full cooperation between the security services and the antiquities authorities concerned, as well as to work on the regional and international levels in order to solve such problems,” Bokova said.

“The destruction of cultural heritage is being used as a tactic of war, to intimidate populations, to finance criminal activities, to spread hatred,” she added. The fact that ten ministers had gathered at the conference was “a strong symbol of our joint commitment to respond, and UNESCO is determined to live up to its responsibilities, because we believe the protection of heritage is far more that a cultural issue — it has become a security imperative,” she said.

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN: Speaking at the conference, Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty called for amendment of the 1970 UNESCO Convention that stipulates the return of all looted and illegally smuggled antiquities to their homelands. He asked that this be extended to include antiquities looted and smuggled before 1970.

Hamdi Loza, Egypt’s assistant to the minister of foreign affairs for Africa, announced that over the last three weeks Egypt has recovered 5,000 artefacts from the United States, France and a number of other countries. Negotiations are underway to recover other artefacts from the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.

Antiquities Coalition Chair Deborah Lehr said the organisation is making efforts to safeguard cultural heritage through advocacy, research and practical solutions as the militants’ trade in artefacts smuggled out of Syria and Iraq is valued in the billions of dollars.

She called for the establishment of a special authority in Egypt to prevent the illegal smuggling of antiquities. The extremists, Lehr said, have been posting images of the destruction of heritage on the Internet to “intimidate those who enjoy beliefs that are contrary to their very narrow views and to fund their nefarious causes.”

Lehr said that during the past four years of turmoil, following Egypt’s 2011 Revolution, an estimated $3 billion worth of antiquities were smuggled abroad, though it is impossible to put a precise value on the historical artefacts looted or taken from illegal excavations.

Libya, which has been in much worse turmoil since the revolution against dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, is thought to be suffering from the same problem, but there are no estimates of the value of the illicit trade in antiquities in that country, she said.

“We must unite to preserve our common heritage and resist IS efforts to steal not only our future freedom but also our history, the very root of our civilisation,” Lehr told the Weekly.

“We need civilising forces now, more than ever, and must take steps to protect our priceless historical sites and constrict terrorists’ ability to profit from the sale of plundered relics,” she added.

Iraq’s Minister of Antiquities and Tourism Adel Fahd Al-Shashab spoke about the destruction that occurred at the palace of Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud and at the Mosul Museum and called on the international community to support Iraq in its fight against terrorism and the loss of its cultural heritage.

He asked for concrete steps and a strategy to protect Iraq’s heritage and return the country’s stolen and smuggled antiquities. He also asked that UN Security Council Resolution 2199, passed in February 2015, be implemented. The resolution condemns the destruction of Iraqi heritage and seeks to prevent IS from profiting from this major financial source.

He also asked the international community to support Iraq in executing its emergency plan, launched in collaboration with UNESCO, to document museum collections and archaeological sites.

Six recommendations were made at the end of the conference as part of the Cairo Declaration. Among the most important was the recommendation to launch a working group to preserve archaeological and cultural properties in the Middle East and prevent smuggling. An international advisory committee should also be established to determine measures to fight against illicit looting and the trading of stolen antiquities.

Conference members agreed to begin discussions to draw up a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the region and between international partners to prevent trading in plundered cultural properties.

Establishing an independent agency to fight against antiquities laundering using fake identification certificates for stolen objects was another recommendation to be discussed with international agencies. A series of conferences and seminars on such topics will be organised.

UNITE FOR HERITAGE: During her stay in Egypt, Bokova paid a visit to the religious complex in Historic Cairo, included since 1979 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a record of urban experience through history. The complex hosts the Coptic Hanging Church and Abu Sarga Church, Greek Orthodox St George’s Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue, and Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-Aas, the oldest mosque in Egypt.

It exemplifies how history, heritage and society can be enriched by dialogue among civilisations and interfaith coexistence. In cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities, her visit also contributed to initiating discussion about the follow-up phase to the UNESCO project for the regeneration of Historic Cairo.

The third phase of the project was successfully completed in November 2014. The project’s conservation and rehabilitation strategy was based on a clearer definition of the World Heritage property. Its buffer zone aims to preserve and enhance the site and its physical and socioeconomic environment. The project also proposes a management system for the site that includes contributions from the concerned local administrations and based on a new and more effective institutional set-up and legal framework.

Bokova also went to the Museum of Islamic Art to launch the second phase of the UNESCO campaign to renew the alliance between society, youth and heritage. The campaign, entitled #Unite4Heritage, was launched in March 2015 in Baghdad and last week in Egypt.

The museum was damaged after a car bomb exploded in January 2014 during the anniversary of the January 2011 Revolution. The #Unite4Heritage campaign, launched at the museum, began with an expression of solidarity against terrorism. Many young Egyptians took part, along with representatives of official and international bodies.

The campaign aims to mobilise international, regional and local efforts to protect and preserve threatened heritage and to stand up against sectarian propaganda campaigns on social networks and Internet.

Bokova made an inspection tour of the museum and reviewed the ongoing rehabilitation and restoration work. “I can hardly think of a better place than Egypt to deliver this message of peace that is embedded in cultural heritage,” she told the attendees.

“Cultural diversity is in Egypt’s DNA, from the Pyramids to this beautiful Museum of Islamic Art, one of the richest in the world. I have just visited the religious complex in Old Cairo, where the Coptic Church, the mosque and synagogue stand side by side, a few dozens of metres apart. What would Egypt be without the Sphinx or the Valley of the Kings? What would Egypt be without such diversity? This is precisely the message we need to share today, and I am more determined than ever to carry it forward,” she said.

UNESCO had extended a helping hand by giving an initial aid package of $100,000 and gaining the support of the international community to restore the museum’s collection of Islamic heritage.

“The museum is the richest Islamic museum in the world because it houses exquisite Islamic objects from different Islamic periods,” Bokova said. Eldamaty described the event as “a defining moment for a unique museum.”

Many countries, NGOs and the private sector provided support when the Islamic Museum was damaged, including the Italian government which gave 800,000 euros; the United Arab Emirates, which took responsibility for rehabilitating the inside of the museum; the American Research Centre in Cairo, which will restore the museum’s façade; and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Germany and Austria have trained museum curators and restorers.

Alesandro Modiano, deputy Italian ambassador to Egypt, said that when the museum was damaged Italy was one of the first countries to offer help. Said Modiano, “Italy is very proud to be involved in the salvage operation, because it is not only helping to preserve cultural heritage, but the architectural design was also made by Italian architect Alfonso Maniscalo.”

The launch of the #Unite4Heritage campaign will be followed over the next two months by a series of initiatives, ranging from public stands in front of the Pyramids, participation in talk shows on television, and declarations by prominent artists and public figures designated as “heritage envoys.”

Schools will also be involved, with children dedicating special days to the campaign and participating in youth forums and a logo design competition supported by social network initiatives.

PDF of article here

Cultural Property Under Threat: The Cultural, Economic & Security Impact of Antiquities Theft in the Middle East

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Cultural Property Under Threat: The Cultural, Economic Security Impact of Antiquities Theft in the Middle East
Cultural Heritage Partners – 19 May 2015

Cairo Conference Panel - Credit Cultural Heritage Partners

Marion Werkheiser was honored to attend a ministerial level conference in Cairo, Egypt, last week to discuss practical solutions to halting cultural racketeering– the systematic looting of antiquities by organized crime or terrorists– in the Middle East. The conference brought together representatives from 10 MENA countries, the Director General of UNESCO, the Head of the Arab League, UN agencies, and ambassadors, as well as experts in counterterrorism, terrorist financing, foreign affairs, heritage law and archaeology.  The meeting was organized and co-hosted by the Antiquities Coalition and The Middle East Institute, and was convened by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Antiquities.

Marion spoke during the Experts Roundtable on Wednesday about ways that countries in the region can work together to enhance their bargaining power to demand antiquities trade restrictions from market countries such as the United States. She also discussed strategies for building political support for the fight against cultural racketeering and shared her experience working with countries to request bilateral trade agreements pursuant to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

At the conclusion of the conference, the countries in attendance signed the Cairo Declaration, a joint agreement to stop terrorist funding and cultural destruction.

 

PDF of article here

Cairo Declaration to protect Middle East cultural heritage

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Cairo Declaration to protect Middle East cultural heritage
Conference examined ways to prevent theft and illegal export of cultural and historic artefacts
Nevine El-Aref , Monday 18 May 2015

Destruction in Mosul
Destruction in Mosul

After discussions and workshops at a two-day conference, Cultural Property Under Threat, held in Egypt four days ago, six recommendations were issued to combat cultural theft.

Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the recommendations were issued under the title Cairo Declaration, and they insist on the launching of a working group from the ten Arab countries who participated in the conference: Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Egypt.

The working group, he explained, is to play a major role to combat the threat against archaeological and cultural property in the Middle East, as well as protecting it and preventing its looting and smuggling abroad.

The establishment of an international advisory committee to support the working group, as well as suggesting measures to fight against illicit looting and trading of stolen antiquities, is another recommendation.

An international cultural awareness campaign in countries that allow trading in antiquities is to be launched very soon in an attempt to decrease the purchasing of stolen antiquities.

The conference members agreed on starting discussions to form and sign a cultural and regional memorandum of understanding in collaboration with international partners to prevent trading in plundered cultural artefacts.

Establishing an independent agency to fight against antiquities laundering, through providing fake identification certificates to the stolen object, is another recommendation to be discussed with concerned international agencies.

The Cultural Property Under Threat (CPUT) conference was officially inaugurated by UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and Eldamaty. It was organised under the patronage of UNESCO by the Antiquities Coalition and the Middle East Institute, in cooperation with Egypt’s ministry of antiquities and foreign affairs.

The conference was an attempt to raise awareness throughout the world in an attempt to safeguard cultural heritage in the Middle East and to debate the measures to fight cultural racketeering.

It also aims to raise awareness about and find specific solutions to stop the looting of antiquities and terrorist financing.

During the two-day conference, several discussions took place between UNESCO, governments, NGOs and the private sector that can either individually or collectively protect the common cultural heritage.

PDF of article here

Antiquities Minister urges amendment of UNESCO 1970 agreement

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Antiquities Minister urges amendment of UNESCO 1970 agreement
Al Masry Al Youm – Thu, 14/05/2015 – 18:55

antiquities_minister_mamdouh_al-damaty_with_unesco_director
Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty said on Thursday he agreed with the UNESCO to establish an Egypt-chaired international advisory committee that studies means to combat antiquity looting.
The agreement came during the Cultural Heritage Under Threat conference hosted in Cairo.
Al-Damaty added that Egypt is keen on amending two articles no. 6 and 9 of the UNESCO 1970 agreement, which bans importing, exporting and transfering ownership of cultural properties illegally. He added that the agreement ignores countries’ rights to restore its monuments stolen before 1970.
He explained that article no. 6 states gives legitimacy to monuments so long as there is a legal selling certificate for the monument. He added that the certificate should be issued from the owning country to prevent selling of the monument through other countries.
He added that article no. 9 is not strongly applied and that it includes the exceptions countries could make to restore monuments from countries witnessing turmoil. The turmoil should include political, economic and social turbulence not only war.
PDF of article here

 

مؤتمر دولى لمواجهة مخاطر الإرهاب على الآثار فى مايو المقبل

تستضيف القاهرة مؤتمرا دوليا حول أزمة تهريب الآثار وعلاقتها بتمويل الإرهاب، وكيفية إيجاد حلول لها، وذلك بالتعاون مع التحالف الدولى لحماية الآثار ومعهد الشرق الأوسط بواشنطن، ومنظمة اليونسكو التى ستشارك فى استضافة المؤتمر يومى 13 و14 مايو المقبل.

وصرح سفير مصر فى واشنطن، محمد توفيق، بأن المؤتمر سيوفر مجالاً لوزراء الخارجية والآثار والثقافة من ثمانى دول فى منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، لمناقشة مخاطر الجماعات الإرهابية، وفى مقدمتها تنظيم داعش، على الإرث الثقافى والحضارى والتراث الإنسانى، مشيرا إلى الاعتداء السافر الذى ارتكبه تنظيم داعش الإرهابى على متحف نينوى وتدمير محتويات مكتبة الموصل بالعراق.

وأكد السفير توفيق أن المؤتمر سيبحث أيضا التداعيات الأمنية والاقتصادية والثقافية لعمليات سرقة وتهريب الآثار وعلاقاتها بتمويل الإرهاب.

ومن جانبها أوضحت ويندى شامبرلين، رئيسة معهد الشرق الأوسط، أن أهمية المؤتمر تكمن فى الفرصة التى يوفرها للخروج باستراتيجية شاملة لمواجهة الخطر الذى يواجهه التراث الإنسانى المملوك للعالم أجمع، مؤكدة أن توحيد الجهود الإقليمية سيظهر للعالم أن كل الشعوب المتحضرة يجب أن تعمل على وقف هذه المأساة الثقافية والحضارية.

وأكدت ديبورا لير، رئيسة التحالف الدولى لحماية الآثار بواشنطن، أن البشرية تتكبد كل يوم خسائر فادحة على يد تنظيم داعش الإرهابى الذى يتاجر بالتاريخ الإنسانى فى الأسواق السوداء، ويستخدم عائداتها لتمويل حملاته الإرهابية، موضحة أن المؤتمر سيخرج بتوصيات تمثل الخطوات البناء التى تساعد الحكومات على حماية مواقعها التراثية.