United States Strengthens Border Security to Intercept Stolen Ukrainian Cultural Treasures
September 16, 2024
New Regulations Seek to Fight Plunder and Pillage During Russian Invasion
The U.S. Government announced September 10, 2024 that it is imposing emergency import restrictions on at-risk art and antiquities from Ukraine, in a major victory for both the country’s cultural heritage and its people.
These new regulations require additional documentation to demonstrate certain cultural objects were legally exported from the country, following growing evidence of a rampant illicit trade by Russian forces and collaborators. If this paperwork is not provided, U.S. authorities may detain, seize, forfeit, and eventually repatriate the pieces. Ukraine officially requested such measures under the main international treaty to combat cultural racketeering, the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
“Border security is a first line of defense against all trafficking, including cultural racketeering,” said Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition. “Closing U.S. markets to stolen goods fights the illicit trade, while protecting consumers, be they individual collectors, dealers, or museums. These regulations will help to ensure that no American citizen unknowingly supports Russia’s campaign of violence against Ukraine and its rich heritage.”
During the invasion of Ukraine, in a policy orchestrated from the top by Vladimir Putin himself, cultural heritage has become an effective weapon of war. Historical propaganda has long been a central component of Moscow’s information warfare campaign. However, since the 2014 invasion of Crimea, art has likewise been a documented tool for key Kremlin allies to evade sanctions, launder money, and hide their substantial assets. In addition, invading forces and opportunistic criminals alike are looting archaeological sites and museums in conflict zones, material that is already (and frequently) surfacing on the U.S. market. While priceless to the Ukrainian people, these treasures are also a valuable commodity, further undermining the sanctions regime by directly funding the cash-strapped Russian State and its violent aggression. Finally, Russia is attacking the Ukrainian people by targeting their cultural heritage for destruction—an atrocity crime in and of itself, as well as a warning sign of impending genocide.
As with all global problems, all nations have a role to play. However, since the United States remains the largest art market in the world, it has a particular opportunity to make a difference. Border controls like these are a much needed tool for law enforcement to identify and intercept looted and stolen cultural property. At the same time, they impose little added burden on legitimate importers.
To learn more about closing U.S. markets to illicit antiquities: https://theantiquitiescoalition.org/developing-implementing-solutions/closing-u-s-markets-to-illicit-antiquities/