Protecting Libyan Cultural Heritage

Sabratha Libya

During the Cairo Conference last May, the former Libyan Minister of Culture and Civil Society, H.E. Habib Mohammed al-Amin, gave a moving speech on the importance of protecting Libyan heritage for future generations. Mr. al-Amin, whose graduate study specialized in classical archaeology, is also an accomplished poet and has long advocated national and human rights issues. His testimony is a plea for the future of Libyan heritage and encapsulates the human effect of destroying cultural patrimony.

For over a year, Libya has been ravaged by civil war and political instability that has rocked the foundations of the nation’s government, now divided between Tobruk and Tripoli. In addition, ISIS affiliate organizations have moved into the country and recently published a manifesto outlining their objectives to destroy the archaeological and cultural heritage of Libya. This heritage is now at high risk of the systematic destruction, looting, and trafficking that has transpired in Iraq and Syria.

On December 10, 2015, ISIS militia besieged the 2nd century CE Roman city of Sabratha. The ancient city, home of a magnificent and immense late 3rd century amphitheater, also contains temples for Egyptian deities and a Christian basilica from the time of Justinian I. The future of this unique collection of monuments that stand testament to Sabratha’s rich cultural heritage is under attack. Libyan archaeological and heritage sites are difficult to defend, and the loss would be irreplaceable.

Five days after the siege, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) released the Emergency Red List of Libyan Cultural Objects at Risk, the 15th in its Red List series. The purpose of the List is to provide a guide for customs officials, police forces, art dealers, and museums to identify potentially looted antiquities coming from Libya. The List was created by a team of international experts, and is funded by the United States Department of State. Though not exhaustive, the List includes vulnerable artifacts such as rock art, figurines and sculptures in stone, metal, and ceramic, glass and semi-precious stones, coins, and accessories such as lamps and jewelry. The artifacts range in period from Hellenistic to Islamic. While much more needs to be done to help Libya in protecting its heritage, the publication of the Red List will hopefully help the United States from becoming a market for these crisis antiquities.

The Antiquities Coalition adds its support for the preservation of Libyan cultural heritage, and salute our colleagues at ICOM for their rapid publication of the Red List.

The Message of Cultural Heritage Protection at the United Nations

Luigi Marini
Luigi Marini

On the first floor of the UN General Assembly building in New York a vest pocket-sized exhibition called “Protecting Cultural Heritage: An Imperative for Humanity” is on display through December 24. One of the organizers is Luigi Marini, Legal Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Italy. And though it is small in scope, it is large in aspiration. Signore Marini hopes that the exhibition will remind delegates that the fight against looting, the illicit trade, and the terrorists and criminals who profit from it continues and that it is time for action. “With this exhibition, we stand up for cultural heritage which is so important for all member nations.”

exhibitionOn December 18, the UN unanimously passed a resolution seeking to slash ISIS’s funding in a session chaired by US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. The resolution strengthens tools to enforce freezing assets, banning travel, and prohibiting the transfer of arms. It also calls on countries to criminalize financial transactions with the terrorist, share information, and track the flow of money, among other steps that seek to cut ISIS’s financing from oil, drug smuggling, kidnapping, taxation, and the sale of antiquities. (For more on the UN Action from the Antiquities Coalition blog, click here).

ExhibitionThere is more to do. UN resolution 2199, passed last February, calls on all members “to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property.” It gave states 120 days to implement the resolution, but Congress has not passed the necessary legislation, despite FBI alerts that ISIS looted materials are reaching the US. With the profits from looting and the illicit trade funding terrorist activities, the crisis in cultural racketeering is a national security issue, for the US and other countries around the world.

ExhibitionThat issue is vividly on display at UN headquarters. Organized with Jordan’s Mission to the UN and partners from UNESCO, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Interpol, the organizers worked with the Carabinieri, the Italian national police force that has jurisdiction over the illicit trade in cultural material to exhibit three large vases, repatriated to Italy after being smuggled out of the country. Along with films, a touch screen display on looting around the world, and photos, the message to UN personnel is clear; cultural heritage protection really is an imperative for humanity.

UN Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution in Fight Against Terrorism Financing, Including Illicit Sale of Antiquities

In an unprecedented move indicative of the serious nature that ISIS now poses to global security, the United States and Russia jointly called a meeting at the United Nations of the world’s top finance ministers. Today, the Security Council unanimously adopted a binding resolution to further monitor and control the flow of money to individuals and groups who might engage in terrorism. The United Nations noted that anyone engaging in these activities that could be supporting ISIS or al-Qaida could be subject to U.N. sanctions.

“Cutting [the Islamic State] off from the international financial system and disrupting its financing are critical to effectively combating this violent terrorist group,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement. “A united international front is vital to achieve that goal.”

The resolution was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter and is legally binding.

It encourages the 193 U.N. member states “to more actively submit” names for inclusion on the sanctions list and expresses “increasing concern” at the failure of countries to implement previous sanctions resolutions.

The proposed resolution urges countries to share information about extremist groups and calls for a report within 120 days on what every country is doing to tackle the financing of IS and al-Qaida.

Adam Szubin, the acting U.S. Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said “The good news is ISIL has a number of vulnerabilities…They are fighting a multi-front war at the same time that they are trying to provide governance, provide assistance to overseas affiliates, and trying to build this reputation of a supposedly Islamic caliphate.”

“Denying [ISIS] access to the international financial system is a key element of any comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy it,” Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., added.

Sellers and purchasers of conflict antiquities should be aware that with the adoption of this resolution, they are subject to accusations of supporting terrorism. The Treasury Department, and Secretary Jacob Lew, deserve credit for this important success today in the fight against terrorism, but also for putting measures in place to bring about a halt to the sale of our past.

The Responsibilities of Museums and the Market: Karol Wight’s Interview with the Antiquities Coalition

Karol Wight is the President and Executive Director of the Corning Museum of Glass as well as Curator of Ancient and Islamic Glass. In this video during the New York Forum on September 24, 2015, Wight describes the art museum industry’s approach to acquisitions policies and the responsibilities of dealers and the art market to ensure that reliable pronounce accompanies all the pieces that pass through the market. Although it is increasingly difficult to track the provenance of pieces that specifically come out of the Middle East, Wight stresses the importance for museums to track collections histories and find the appropriate documentation in determining what pieces are secure to acquire. Wight became the Executive Director of the Corning Museum of Glass in August 2011 and assumed the title of President and Executive Director in January 2015. Wight was previously Senior Curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum. She is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the AAMD’s Art and Archaeological Task Force. Wight received her doctorate in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles.

US Antiquities Black Market Funding ISIS

BreakingIsraelNews1

US Antiquities Black Market Funding ISIS

By Ahuva Balofsky | December 14, 2015, 8:30am

Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 9.04.54 AM

ISIS jihadists destroying ancient artifacts in Mosul.
ISIS jihadists destroying ancient artifacts in Mosul.

American black market dealers in antiquities are inadvertently supporting the Islamic State (ISIS), experts claim. The market not only funds their terrorist activities, it also enables them to continue, Reuters reported.

“They’re benefitting not only from the sale but also from the trade itself,” said Deborah Lehr, chair and co-founder of Washington-based Antiquities Coalition, a group of experts from around the world working together to fight the illegal trade of antiquities by terror groups such as ISIS.

“There are some collectors on the market who have actually said outright that a way to protect this material is to buy it. Of course, that’s a fallacy, it just means the price provides more incentive for ISIS to loot more and sell more and make more money,” says Richard Kurin of the Smithsonian Institution.

For years, ISIS has been conducting a cultural war in the countries in which it operates, destroying artifacts it considers “blasphemous” under Islamic law. What the group doesn’t destroy, it sells on the black market to raise funds for its operations.

“You see one day pristine sands, and three months later, it looks like Swiss cheese,” Lehr says, referring to the looted territories.

The jihadist group often enlists local residents to do its dirty work, she adds. “Local people are doing a lot of this for very understandable reasons, it’s a very difficult economic time.”

Once removed from Syria and Iraq, some artifacts remain in the Middle East, while others are shipped to Europe, Asia or America. Despite their best efforts, customs officials often do not recognize the stolen materials.

“Your average customs official will know if he sees a kilo of cocaine, that it’s automatically illegal. But if they’re seeing an ancient pot, they don’t know in some cases whether it’s a tourist trinket or it’s a 3,000-year-old urn,” said Lehr.

“Nobody is coming to you with a black mask and saying ‘Hey, we stole this,’” Kurin points out.

To fight this phenomenon, museums, such as the Smithsonian Institution, are working to train customs staff to identify stolen artifacts. They also use their expertise to identify suspicious items. The Smithsonian, for its part, houses antiquities from a region in Syria currently being desecrated by ISIS.

The red list, maintained by the International Council of Museums, also plays a role in combating the theft and black market sale of artifacts. This database warns which artifacts are at risk of being stolen.

While US-based online marketplace eBay has not uncovered any evidence of such stolen artifacts being sold through its service, it has warned its users to beware.

The looting of artifacts is also raising fears of long-term implications. “These kinds of cultural cleansing that we’ve seen going on by ISIS is really a precursor in many instances to ethnic cleansing,” says Lehr.

PDF of the article here

US antiquities black market helps fund ISIS, experts say

israelhayom

US antiquities black market helps fund ISIS, experts say

Taken from Syria and Iraq, some items are believed to stay within the Middle East, others travel to east Asia and Europe, and some treasures have also shown up in the U.S. • Without an expert eye, the goods often pass right through security checks.

Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
The ruins at the ancient site of Palmyra, in Syria, were destroyed by ISIS [Archive] | Photo credit: Reuters
The ruins at the ancient site of Palmyra, in Syria, were destroyed by ISIS [Archive] | Photo credit: Reuters

The multimillion-dollar antiquities black market in the United States is helping fund the terrorist group Islamic State, experts said on Wednesday, noting that whatever the group doesn’t destroy in Syria and Iraq, it sells for a hefty profit.

Consequently, some people may not realize that they could be inadvertently helping the Sunni radical Islamist organization.

“They’re benefitting not only from the sale but also from the trade itself,” said Deborah Lehr, chair and co-founder of Washington-based Antiquities Coalition, which is formed by a group of worldwide experts fighting the illegal trade of antiquities by terrorist groups like ISIS.

Satellite photos show that ISIS has destroyed historical sites and taken away cultural relics in Syria and Iraq.

“You see one day pristine sands, and three months later, it looks like Swiss cheese,” Lehr said, referring to the damaged cultural relics.

According to Lehr, ISIS members often prey on struggling locals, offering them cash to do the digging.

“Local people are doing a lot of this for very understandable reasons, it’s a very difficult economic time,” she said.

Taken from Syria and Iraq, some items are believed to stay within the Middle East, others travel to east Asia and Europe, and some treasures have also shown up in the United States.

Without an expert eye, the goods often pass right through security checks, Lehr said.

“Your average customs official will know if he sees a kilo of cocaine, that it’s automatically illegal. But if they’re seeing an ancient pot, they don’t know in some cases whether it’s a tourist trinket or it’s a 3,000-year-old urn,” said Lehr.

Museums also play a big role in this fight. The Smithsonian Institution houses antiquities from a region in Syria currently being desecrated by ISIS.

“Nobody is coming to you with a black mask and saying ‘Hey, we stole this,'” said Richard Kurin, a staff member at the Smithsonian Institution.

Museums use their expertise to spot suspicious items and the institutions also help train customs officers to recognize them.

Another tool is the red list — a database maintained in part by the international council of museums. It warns of items around the world that are most at risk of being looted.

The U.S.-based online marketplace eBay says it hasn’t seen any direct evidence of looted items from Iraq and Syria showing up on its site, but has warned potential buyers to beware.

“There are some collectors on the market who have actually said outright that a way to protect this material is to buy it. Of course, that’s a fallacy, it just means the price provides more incentive for ISIS to loot more and sell more and make more money,” said Kurin.

A looting of treasures from a precious past also prompts fears of what it may bring to the future.

“These kinds of cultural cleansing that we’ve seen going on by ISIS is really a precursor in many instances to ethnic cleansing,” said Lehr.

PDF of the article here

Protecting Universal Human Heritage: H.E. Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s Interview with the Antiquities Coalition

His Excellency Ibrahim al-Eshaiqr al-Jaafari, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Prime Minister, Republic of Iraq gave a stirring presentation at the New York Forum on September 24, 2015, and spoke directly to the Antiquities Coalition. In this interview, the Iraqi Foreign Minister emphasizes the collective need for saving Iraqi ancient antiquities and heritage through legal enforcement of national regulations and international conventions. Mr. al-Jaafari stresses that Iraqi heritage is universal, regardless of religious creed or nationalities, and states that cultural racketeering should be prosecuted as a war crime. Mr. al-Jaafari was one of the two Vice Presidents of Iraq in the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to 2005 and served as Prime Minister of Iraq in the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, and has been in his current capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs since September 2014. Mr. al-Jaafari holds a medical degree from Mosul University.

Importance of Collaboration: Bonnie Burnham’s Interview for the Antiquities Coalition

Bonnie Burnham, Senior Advisor to and President Emerita of the World Monuments Fund, spoke to the Antiquities Coalition during the New York Forum on September 24, 2015. In this video, Burnham stresses that collaboration is key to implementing effective measures to protect cultural heritage in times of conflict, citing documentation and capacity building as several such examples. She also speaks to the value of open-source software database projects such as Arches, the collaborative documentation effort between the World Monuments Fund and the Getty Conservation Institute, as well as the importance of solidarity in the face of the humanitarian crisis. Burnham is an expert in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage and served as President of the World Monuments Fund from 1985 to 2015, previously the Executive Director of the International Foundation for Art Research. He holds degrees in the history of art from the University of Florida and the Université de Paris-Sorbonne.