In response to growing evidence that the illicit antiquities trade is directly financing terrorist networks — especially the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known by its acronyms ISIS or Daesh — the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a rare alert to the art market.

The FBI Asks for the Art Market’s Help Distributing this Flyer

Organized criminals, armed insurgents, and terrorists have long profited from such cultural racketeering. However, under ISIS’ black flag, it has become not just a side enterprise, but a massive illegal industry. In yesterday’s statement, the FBI reveals it has now received “credible” reports that artifacts looted by ISIS are reaching the US, and cautions that collectors and dealers who purchase them may be funding weapons of troops that seize cities, slaughter soldiers, and behead civilians. The bureau calls on the art world’s leaders to help them keep these conflict antiquities off the market. It also warns that those dealing in such items may be subject to sanctions under the Iraq Stabilization and Insurgency Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR part 576), and more seriously, prosecution under 18 USC 2339A for providing financial support to terrorist organizations.

This commendable action by the FBI — which to our knowledge is unprecedented — further confirms that the illicit antiquities trade is funding crime and conflict around the globe. The FBI is not alone in recognizing the severity of this threat to our heritage and security: the Antiquities Coalition was first created to combat this crisis. As part of this work, next month we will join the Asia Society, Middle East Institute, and UNESCO in hosting a high level forum on terrorist financing. “Culture Under Threat” will convene during the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, and bring together the very policy makers and experts who can cut off ISIS profits from cultural racketeering.

Read the FBI’s Warning In Its Entirety Here

Images Provided by the FBI Show Syrian Looters’ Pits in 2012 and again in 2014

Credit: State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

By: Tess Davis

Lonely Planet, the world’s largest publisher of guidebooks, has just ranked the planet’s 500 must see destinations, in what it is calling “the definitive bucket list for every type of traveler.” Coming in at number 1? Not Giza’s pyramids, or Rome’s Colosseum, or Peru’s Machu Picchu — or even more modern destinations like New York City — but Cambodia’s Temples of Angkor.

That Cambodia’s ancient capital was, in Lonely Planet’s own words, the “undisputed champion” of “the ultimate travel list” did not surprise those of us who already know and love the Southeast Asian kingdom. Its crowning achievement — the 12th century temple of Angkor Wat — still rivals the Egyptian pyramids in scale and the Sistine Chapel in detail. And Angkor Wat is just one of the many such monuments awaiting that await visitors within the 400 square kilometers that make up the current UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Twelve years ago, when I first visited Angkor Wat, I knew I was seeing one of the world’s wonders… whether the world recognized that yet or not. But Lonely Planet’s announcement will no doubt further introduce the site — and the rest of Cambodia — to the more general public, especially since it comes on the heels of a similar ranking by Travelocity just last June. The “secret” that is Angkor is definitely out.

This news was rightfully celebrated in the kingdom, although it has also led to many an archaeologist suffering nightmares of an eventual “Angkor Disney.” The site may have survived centuries of abandonment and war, but can it survive its own popularity? Despite the best efforts of the Cambodian government, and teams of conservators from around the world, the never ending stream of visitors is visibly wearing away at the temples. Tour buses scrape (literally) past ancient gates, pounding feet polish stairs into dust, and the occasional vandal even carves initials into bas reliefs. The infrastructure of Siem Reap, a once sleepy town that now serves as the gateway to Angkor, is also suffering from the strain as its roads fill with traffic and its water table drops precipitously.

Tourism to heritage sites like Angkor Thom bring great costs as well as benefits (Tess Davis, 2003)

The potential costs of tourism are obviously high, but so too are the hoped for benefits, especially in a developing country like Cambodia. Still there are valid questions about how much the Khmer people have actually benefited from tourism thus far. Despite the millions of visitors to Angkor, and millions of dollars accompanying them, Siem Reap remains among the poorest provinces in a poor country. Some economists estimate that as few as $7 of every $100 tourist dollars stay in the pockets of the local people — with the rest going to foreign hotel, restaurant, and tour owners.

With the Lonely Planet ranking, the need for responsible and sustainable tourism is now greater than ever, for both Angkor and the people who live in its shadow. Cambodia’s temples have (for better or worse) become an economic resource, and just like any other economic resource, they must be properly conserved or they will be exhausted. Angkor may have topped Lonely Planet’s list this year, but it won’t stay there if the site becomes more theme park than ancient wonder.

Despite the possible risks that come with Angkor’s newfound popularity, Cambodia is to be greatly and sincerely congratulated for this recognition, which would have been unthinkable just decades ago. While Iraq and Syria are the global hotspots today, from the 1970s and onward, it was Indochina and indeed Cambodia. The country’s bloody civil war erupted in 1970, and would not end until 1998, when the Khmer Rouge finally surrendered. During this period of genocide and destruction, an estimated 3 million people died in the “Killing Fields, millions more left as refugees, and the country’s many temples (included Angkor itself) were plundered on a scale rarely before seen in history.”

In 1970 — even in 1998 — one could no more imagine Angkor topping a list of vacation destinations than we can Palmyra today.

And that is why, as someone who has dedicated much of my life to helping preserve Cambodia’s heritage, Lonely’s Planet’s title is more than just a title. With the terrible news coming out of the Middle East — most recently the murder of archaeologist Khaled Asaad and reported destruction of Baal Shamin — it is also a cause for hope. For like the so-called “Islamic State” of Iraq and Syria, the Khmer Rouge also marked scholars for death, razed sacred places of worship, and plundered antiquities by the truckload. But they did not win. Cambodia, with its rich culture and history battered but unbroken, was able to survive one of the worst conflicts of the twentieth century and come back stronger than ever.

I hope that within my lifetime, we can say the same about Iraq and Syria.

Tess Davis is Executive Director of the Antiquities Coalition

Dr. Khaled al-Asaad, Photo Source: The Guardian

The Antiquities Coalition strongly condemns the recent murder by ISIS of the world renowned scholar, Khaled al-Asaad. Dr. al-Asaad died protecting the very history that he has worked his whole life to excavate and conserve. His pioneering work in Syrian archaeology led to uncovering the treasures of Palmyra’s rich past for Syria and the rest of the world to enjoy. This deplorable action is yet another aspect of ISIS’ continuing campaign to use cultural heritage as a means to intimidate those that practice different faiths and share different ideologies. It is important that the international community stand together in the fight against cultural terrorism and cultural cleansing. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the Dr. al-Asaad’s family, friends and colleagues.

The Italian Mission to the United Nations has now posted the full statement of its Permanent Representative, Sebastiano Cardi, from the roundtable discussion hosted by Italy and Jordan on June 3rd.

“Countering Destruction of and Trafficking in Cultural Property: From Lessons Learned to Implementation” brought together international experts from government, law enforcement, and the nonprofit sector — including the Antiquities Coalition, the Carabinieri, INTERPOL, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Below are the full remarks of H.E. Ambassador Cardi, a career diplomat with over three decades of service in Italy and abroad, who has been a tireless advocate for heritage preservation:

“At the outset, I thank the Permanent Mission of Jordan and Ambassador Dina Kawar and the UNESCO Office in New York for joining us in promoting and organizing this event. Your cooperation and input have been extremely helpful.

A sincere thank you and a welcome to all the panelists who have accepted our joint invitation. We look forward to hearing your thoughts, and to the interesting debate we know we can expect from the floor in the second half of the meeting.

As the concept note for today’s event points out, there has been a recent spike in the barbaric destruction of and terrorist attacks on the cultural heritage of countries affected by armed conflict. This, together with the unprecedented scale of organized looting and illicit trafficking in cultural objects. Such crimes seek to erode our collective cultural and historical heritage and are being used to intimidate populations. In addition, these acts are meant to generate income for terrorist groups, to support their recruitment efforts, and to strengthen their operational capability to organize and carry out terrorist attacks.

This risk is particularly high in the Middle East and in the Mediterranean – although not limited to these regions – where the multiethnic and multi-religious character of the societies is under severe threat. As a close friend and member of the region, Italy is a staunch believer in preserving inclusiveness and diversity and is ready to deploy the necessary political and practical tools to address this challenge through international cooperation.

Today’s roundtable offers the panelists an opportunity to discuss innovative and practical ways to protect and preserve cultural heritage. We will also be briefed by UNESCO, INTERPOL, the Italian Carabinieri, UNODC, and other experts on practical measures for addressing this threat and implementing the established international legal framework.

In 1969, Italy became the first Country in the world to create a police division specialized in the protection of cultural heritage and the fight against illegal trafficking of cultural property. Building on this experience, we are very active in this field at both the political and the technical levels, as you will hear shortly from a representative of the Carabinieri corps.

Allow me to mention some of our political initiatives.

In the framework of the Anti-ISIL Coalition, Italy is co-chairing with the USA and Saudi Arabia the “Counter ISIL Finance Group,” whose aims include promoting swift implementation of UNSCR 2199 (co-sponsored by Italy).

This Group has already met twice: the first time in Rome in March and then in Gedda at the beginning of May. In Rome the members of the Group adopted an action plan with concrete proposals to counter ISIL/DAESH’s economic sustainability. The Action Plan identifies four main areas of enhanced cooperation: 1) prevent ISIL’s use of the international financial system; 2) counter the extortion and exploitation of economic assets and resources that transit, enter, or are derived from ISIL-held territory; 3) deny ISIL funding from abroad; and 4) prevent ISIL from providing financial or material support to foreign affiliates in an effort to expand its global ambitions.

It was at Italy’s request that reference was made in the action plan to countering the smuggling of archeological and cultural goods. During the second meeting of the Group, held in Gedda, three sub-groups were established to pursue specific items of the action plan and devise operational proposals. Italy will be chairing the sub-group on illegal trafficking in cultural property.

The sub-group will provide investigative cooperation in detecting international smuggling routes and foreign facilitators, middlemen, or buyers, and in tracking down stolen or looted cultural property, including archaeological objects. It will also support and enhance implementation of the INTERPOL’s international database, in order to facilitate identification and recovery of cultural and archeological goods, also by strengthening existing tools such as the Protection System for Cultural Heritage (PSYCHE) project.

Three final remarks. First, our national action is expressed most prominently at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and we appreciate DG Bokova’s participation in yesterday’s meeting of the anti-Daesh Coalition and the proposals she made during the meeting. At the initiative of Italy and Spain, in April the UNESCO Executive Board adopted resolution 196 on culture in areas of conflict. The resolution underlines that damage to the archaeological, historical, cultural and religious tangible and intangible heritage constitutes damage to the cultural heritage of humanity as a whole, and that, according to international law, intentional attacks on buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes and historic monuments may be considered a war crime.

Second, it is time to translate into practice the resolution on the protection of cultural items in Iraq.

The last one is on accountability, fighting impunity and promoting justice. As Vice President of the Assembly of State parties of the International Criminal Court, allow me to recall the importance of prevention through justice.

Protecting the cultural heritage and integrating the cultural dimension into the prevention and settlement of conflicts is not only an emergency measure: it is also a political and security imperative. I am confident that today’s event will contribute to our common cause.

Thank you.”