PUBLIC LAW 114–151—MAY 9, 2016 130 STAT. 369 

Public Law 114–151 

114th Congress 

An Act 

To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to political 

instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act’’. 

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that the President should establish 

an interagency coordinating committee to coordinate the efforts 

of the executive branch to protect and preserve international cultural property at risk from political instability, armed conflict, 

or natural or other disasters. Such committee should— 

(1) be chaired by a Department of State employee of Assistant Secretary rank or higher, concurrent with that employee’s 

other duties; 

(2) include representatives of the Smithsonian Institution 

and Federal agencies with responsibility for the preservation 

and protection of international cultural property; 

(3) consult with governmental and nongovernmental 

organizations, including the United States Committee of the 

Blue Shield, museums, educational institutions, and research 

institutions, and participants in the international art and cultural property market on efforts to protect and preserve international cultural property; 

(4) coordinate core United States interests in— 

(A) protecting and preserving international cultural 

property; 

(B) preventing and disrupting looting and illegal trade 

and trafficking in international cultural property, particularly exchanges that provide revenue to terrorist and 

criminal organizations; 

(C) protecting sites of cultural and archaeological 

significance; and 

(D) providing for the lawful exchange of international 

cultural property. 

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall exercise the authority 

of the President under section 304 of the Convention on Cultural 

Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) to impose import 

restrictions set forth in section 307 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2606) 

President. 

Protect and 

Preserve 

International 

Cultural 

Property Act. 

19 USC 2601 

note. 

May 9, 2016 

[H.R. 1493] 


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130 STAT. 370 PUBLIC LAW 114–151—MAY 9, 2016 

with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material of 

Syria— 

(1) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

of this Act; 

(2) without regard to whether Syria is a State Party (as 

defined in section 302 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)); and 

(3) notwithstanding— 

(A) the requirement of subsection (b) of section 304 

of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2603(b)) that an emergency condition 

(as defined in subsection (a) of that section) applies; and 

(B) the limitations under subsection (c) of that section. 

(b) ANNUAL DETERMINATION REGARDING CERTIFICATION.— (1) DETERMINATION.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, not less often 

than annually, determine whether at least 1 of the conditions specified in subparagraph (B) is met, and shall notify 

the appropriate congressional committees of such determination. 

(B) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred to in 

subparagraph (A) are the following: 

(i) The Government of Syria is incapable, at the 

time a determination under such subparagraph is 

made, of fulfilling the requirements to request an 

agreement under section 303 of the Convention on 

Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 

2602), including the requirements under subsection 

(a)(3) of that section. 

(ii) It would be against the United States national 

interest to enter into such an agreement. 

(2) TERMINATION OF RESTRICTIONS.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph 

(B), the import restrictions referred to in subsection (a) 

shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date 

on which the President determines that neither of the 

conditions specified in paragraph (1)(B) are met. 

(B) REQUEST FOR TERMINATION.—If Syria requests to 

enter into an agreement with the United States pursuant 

to section 303 of the Convention on Cultural Property 

Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602) on or after the date 

on which the President determines that neither of the 

conditions specified in paragraph (1)(B) are met, the import 

restrictions referred to in subsection (a) shall terminate 

on the earlier of— 

(i) the date that is 3 years after the date on which 

Syria makes such a request; or 

(ii) the date on which the United States and Syria 

enter into such an agreement. 

(c) WAIVER.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive the import 

restrictions referred to in subsection (a) for specified archaeological and ethnological material of Syria if the President 

certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the 

conditions described in paragraph (2) are met. 

(2) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred to in paragraph 

(1) are the following: 

(A)(i) The owner or lawful custodian of the specified 

archaeological or ethnological material of Syria has 

Certification. 

Determination. 

Notification. 

Deadline. 


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PUBLIC LAW 114–151—MAY 9, 2016 130 STAT. 371 

requested that such material be temporarily located in 

the United States for protection purposes; or 

(ii) if no owner or lawful custodian can reasonably 

be identified, the President determines that, for purposes 

of protecting and preserving such material, the material 

should be temporarily located in the United States. 

(B) Such material shall be returned to the owner or 

lawful custodian when requested by such owner or lawful 

custodian. 

(C) There is no credible evidence that granting a waiver 

under this subsection will contribute to illegal trafficking 

in archaeological or ethnological material of Syria or 

financing of criminal or terrorist activities. 

(3) ACTION.—If the President grants a waiver under this 

subsection, the specified archaeological or ethnological material 

of Syria that is the subject of such waiver shall be placed 

in the temporary custody of the United States Government 

or in the temporary custody of a cultural or educational institution within the United States for the purpose of protection, 

restoration, conservation, study, or exhibition, without profit. 

(4) IMMUNITY FROM SEIZURE.—Any archaeological or ethnological material that enters the United States pursuant to 

a waiver granted under this section shall have immunity from 

seizure under Public Law 89–259 (22 U.S.C. 2459). All provisions of Public Law 89–259 shall apply to such material as 

if immunity from seizure had been granted under that Public 

Law. 

(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term 

‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 

(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Finance of the Senate; and 

(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. 

(2) ARCHAEOLOGICAL OR ETHNOLOGICAL MATERIAL OF

SYRIA.—The term ‘‘archaeological or ethnological material of 

Syria’’ means cultural property (as defined in section 302 of 

the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 

U.S.C. 2601)) that is unlawfully removed from Syria on or 

after March 15, 2011. 

SEC. 4. REPORT. 

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

Act, and annually thereafter for the next 6 years, the President 

shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

on the efforts of the executive branch, during the 12-month period 

preceding the submission of the report, to protect and preserve 

international cultural property, including— 

(1) whether an interagency coordinating committee as 

described in section 2 has been established and, if such a 

committee has been established, a description of the activities 

undertaken by such committee, including a list of the entities 

participating in such activities; 

(2) a description of measures undertaken pursuant to relevant statutes, including— 

(A) actions to implement and enforce section 3 of this 

Act and section 3002 of the Emergency Protection for Iraqi 

President. 

Time period. 

Applicability. 

Determination. 


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130 STAT. 372 PUBLIC LAW 114–151—MAY 9, 2016 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1493: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 

Vol. 161 (2015): June 1, considered and passed House. 

Vol. 162 (2016): Apr. 13, considered and passed Senate, amended. 

Apr. 26, House concurred in Senate amendment. 

Æ 

Cultural Antiquities Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–429; 118 

Stat. 2599), including measures to dismantle international 

networks that traffic illegally in cultural property; 

(B) a description of any requests for a waiver under 

section 3(c) of this Act and, for each such request, whether 

a waiver was granted; 

(C) a list of the statutes and regulations employed 

in criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent 

illegal trade and trafficking in cultural property; 

(D) actions undertaken to ensure the consistent and 

effective application of law in cases relating to illegal trade 

and trafficking in cultural property; and 

(E) actions undertaken to promote the legitimate 

commercial and non-commercial exchange and movement 

of cultural property; and 

(3) actions undertaken in fulfillment of international agreements on cultural property protection, including the Convention 

for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed 

Conflict, done at The Hague May 14, 1954. 

Approved May 9, 2016. 

List. 


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