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.

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.”

On 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).

There 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.

That 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.