II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1887 

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

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

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, and Mr. PERDUE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To protect and preserve international cultural property at 

risk due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural 

or other disasters, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect and Preserve 

5 International Cultural Property Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1887.IS S1887

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1 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

2 the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 

3 on Armed Services, and the Committee on the Judi4 ciary of the House of Representatives and the Com5 mittee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Fi6 nance, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

7 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. 

8 (2) CULTURAL PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘cultural 

9 property’’ includes property covered under— 

10 (A) the Hague Convention for the Protec11 tion of Cultural Property in the Event of 

12 Armed Conflict, concluded at The Hague on 

13 May 14, 1954 (Treaty Doc. 106–1(A)); 

14 (B) Article 1 of the Convention Concerning 

15 the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Nat16 ural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO on Novem17 ber 23, 1972 (commonly referred to as the 

18 ‘‘1972 Convention’’); or 

19 (C) Article 1 of the Convention on the 

20 Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit 

21 Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of 

22 Cultural Property, adopted by UNESCO on 

23 November 14, 1970 (commonly referred to as 

24 the ‘‘1970 UNESCO Convention’’). 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Over the years, international cultural prop4 erty has been looted, trafficked, lost, damaged, or 

5 destroyed due to political instability, armed conflict, 

6 natural disasters, and other threats. 

7 (2) During China’s Cultural Revolution, many 

8 antiques were destroyed, including a large portion of 

9 old Beijing, and Chinese authorities are now at10 tempting to rebuild portions of China’s lost architec11 tural heritage. 

12 (3) In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, after seizing 

13 power in Cambodia, systematically destroyed 

14 mosques and nearly every Catholic church in the 

15 country, along with many Buddhist temples, statues, 

16 and Buddhist literature. 

17 (4) In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the 

18 Bamiyan Buddhas, ancient statues carved into a 

19 cliffside in central Afghanistan, leading to worldwide 

20 condemnation. 

21 (5) After the fall of Saddam Hussein, thieves 

22 looted the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, resulting in the 

23 loss of approximately 15,000 items, including an24 cient amulets, sculptures, ivories, and cylinder seals. 

25 Many of these items remain unrecovered. 


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1 (6) The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and 

2 tsunami not only affected 11 countries, causing mas3 sive loss of life, but also damaged or destroyed li4 braries, archives, and World Heritage Sites such as 

5 the Mahabalipuram in India, the Sun Temple of 

6 Koranak on the Bay of Bengal, and the Old Town 

7 of Galle and its fortifications in Sri Lanka. 

8 (7) In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake destroyed 

9 art, artifacts, and archives, and partially destroyed 

10 the 17th century Haitian city of Jacmel. 

11 (8) In Mali, the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist 

12 group Ansar Dine destroyed tombs and shrines in 

13 the ancient city of Timbuktu—a major center for 

14 trade, scholarship, and Islam in the 15th and 16th 

15 centuries—and threatened collections of ancient 

16 manuscripts. 

17 (9) In Egypt, recent political instability has led 

18 to the ransacking of museums, resulting in the de19 struction of countless ancient artifacts that will for20 ever leave gaps in humanity’s record of the ancient 

21 Egyptian civilization. 

22 (10) In Syria, the ongoing civil war has resulted 

23 in the shelling of medieval cities, damage to five 

24 World Heritage Sites, and the looting of museums 

25 containing artifacts that date back more than six 


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1 millennia and include some of the earliest examples 

2 of writing. 

3 (11) In Iraq and Syria, the militant group ISIL 

4 has destroyed numerous cultural sites and artifacts, 

5 such as the Tomb of Jonah in July 2014, in an ef6 fort to eradicate ethnic and religious minorities from 

7 contested territories. Concurrently, cultural antiq8 uities that escape demolition are looted and traf9 ficked to help fund ISIL’s militant operations. 

10 (12) On February 12, 2015, the United Na11 tions Security Council unanimously adopted resolu12 tion 2199 (2015), which ‘‘[r]eaffirms its decision in 

13 paragraph 7 of resolution 1483 (2003) and decides 

14 that all Member States shall take appropriate steps 

15 to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural 

16 property and other items of archaeological, histor17 ical, cultural, rare scientific, and religious impor18 tance illegally removed from Iraq since 6 August 

19 1990 and from Syria since 15 March 2011, includ20 ing by prohibiting cross-border trade in such items, 

21 thereby allowing for their eventual safe return to the 

22 Iraqi and Syrian people.’’. 

23 (13) United Nations Security Council resolution 

24 2199 (2015) also warns that ISIL and other extrem25 ist groups are trafficking cultural heritage items 


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1 from Iraq and Syria to fund their recruitment ef2 forts and carry out terrorist attacks. 

3 (14) The destruction of cultural property rep4 resents an irreparable loss of humanity’s common 

5 cultural heritage and is therefore a loss for all 

6 Americans. 

7 (15) Protecting international cultural property 

8 is a vital part of United States cultural diplomacy, 

9 showing the respect of the United States for other 

10 cultures and the common heritage of humanity. 

11 (16) The United States Armed Forces have 

12 played important roles in preserving and protecting 

13 cultural property. In 1943, President Franklin D. 

14 Roosevelt established a commission to advise the 

15 United States military on the protection of cultural 

16 property. The commission formed teams of individ17 uals known as the ‘‘Monuments Men’’ who are cred18 ited with securing, cataloguing, and returning hun19 dreds of thousands of works of art stolen by the 

20 Nazis during World War II. 

21 (17) The Department of State, in response to 

22 the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation 

23 Act, noted that ‘‘the legislation is important to our 

24 foreign relations, including our international cultural 

25 relations. The expanding worldwide trade in objects 


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1 of archaeological and ethnological interest has led to 

2 wholesale depredations in some countries, resulting 

3 in the mutilation of ceremonial centers and archae4 ological complexes of ancient civilizations and the re5 moval of stone sculptures and reliefs.’’. The Depart6 ment further noted that ‘‘[t]he United States con7 siders that on grounds of principle, good foreign re8 lations, and concern for the preservation of the cul9 tural heritage of mankind, it should render assist10 ance in these situations.’’. 

11 (18) The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield 

12 was founded in 2006 to support the implementation 

13 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of 

14 Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 

15 and to coordinate with the United States military, 

16 other branches of the United States Government, 

17 and other cultural heritage nongovernmental organi18 zations in preserving international cultural property 

19 threatened by political instability, armed conflict, or 

20 natural or other disasters. 

21 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 

22 of the United States to— 

23 (1) protect and preserve international cultural 

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1 tion due to political instability, armed conflict, or 

2 natural or other disasters; 

3 (2) protect international cultural property pur4 suant to its obligations under international treaties 

5 to which the United States is a party; 

6 (3) prevent, in accordance with existing laws, 

7 importation of cultural property pillaged, looted, sto8 len, or trafficked at all times, including during polit9 ical instability, armed conflict, or natural or other 

10 disasters; and 

11 (4) ensure that existing laws and regulations, 

12 including import restrictions imposed through the 

13 Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) of the De14 partment of the Treasury, are fully implemented to 

15 prevent trafficking in stolen or looted cultural prop16 erty. 

17 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR INTER18 NATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY PROTEC19 TION. 

20 The Secretary of State shall designate a Department 

21 of State employee at the Assistant Secretary level or above 

22 to serve concurrently as the United States Coordinator for 

23 International Cultural Property Protection. The Coordi24 nator shall— 


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1 (1) coordinate and promote efforts to protect 

2 international cultural property, especially activities 

3 that involve multiple Federal agencies; 

4 (2) act as Chair of the Coordinating Committee 

5 on International Cultural Property Protection estab6 lished under section 5; 

7 (3) resolve interagency differences; 

8 (4) develop strategies to reduce illegal trade 

9 and trafficking in international cultural property in 

10 the United States and abroad, including by reducing 

11 consumer demand for such trade; 

12 (5) support activities to assist countries that 

13 are the principle sources of trafficked cultural prop14 erty to protect cultural heritage sites and to prevent 

15 cultural property looting and theft; 

16 (6) work with and consult domestic and inter17 national actors such as foreign governments, inter18 governmental organizations, nongovernmental orga19 nizations, museums, educational institutions, and re20 search institutions to protect international cultural 

21 property; and 

22 (7) submit to the appropriate congressional 

23 committees the annual report required under section 

24 6. 


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1 SEC. 5. COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL 

2 CULTURAL PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Coordi4 nating Committee on International Cultural Property Pro5 tection (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

6 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The full Committee shall meet not 

7 less often than annually to coordinate and inform Federal 

8 efforts to protect international cultural property and to 

9 facilitate the work of the United States Coordinator for 

10 International Cultural Property Protection designated 

11 under section 4. 

12 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com13 posed of the United States Coordinator for International 

14 Cultural Property Protection, who shall act as Chair, and 

15 representatives of the following: 

16 (1) The Department of State. 

17 (2) The Department of Defense. 

18 (3) The Department of Homeland Security, in19 cluding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

20 and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

21 (4) The Department of the Interior. 

22 (5) The Department of Justice, including the 

23 Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

24 (6) The United States Agency for International 

25 Development. 

26 (7) The Smithsonian Institution. 


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1 (8) Such other entities as the Chair determines 

2 appropriate. 

3 (d) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Committee may include 

4 such subcommittees and taskforces as the Chair deter5 mines appropriate. Such subcommittees or taskforces may 

6 be comprised of a subset of the Committee members or 

7 of such other members as the Chair determines appro8 priate. At the discretion of the Chair, the provisions of 

9 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and 

10 section 552b of title 5 of the United States Code (relating 

11 to open meetings) shall not apply to activities of such sub12 committees or taskforces. 

13 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Committee shall consult 

14 with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, 

15 including the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, muse16 ums, educational institutions, and research institutions on 

17 efforts to promote and protect international cultural prop18 erty. 

19 SEC. 6. REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES TO PROTECT INTER20 NATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY. 

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

22 of this Act and annually thereafter for the next 6 years, 

23 the Secretary of State, acting through the United States 

24 Coordinator for International Cultural Property Protec25 tion, and in consultation with the Administrator of the 


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1 United States Agency for International Development, the 

2 Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, shall submit 

4 to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 

5 includes information on activities of— 

6 (1) the United States Coordinator and the Co7 ordinating Committee on International Cultural 

8 Property Protection to protect international cultural 

9 property; 

10 (2) the Department of State to protect inter11 national cultural property, including activities under12 taken pursuant to the Hague Convention for the 

13 Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of 

14 Armed Conflict, and other statutes, international 

15 agreements, and policies, including— 

16 (A) procedures the Department has insti17 tuted to protect international cultural property 

18 at risk of destruction due to political instability, 

19 armed conflict, or natural or other disasters; 

20 and 

21 (B) actions the Department has taken to 

22 protect international cultural property in con23 flicts to which the United States is a party; 

24 (3) the United States Agency for International 

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1 tural property, including activities and coordination 

2 with other Federal agencies, international organiza3 tions, and nongovernmental organizations regarding 

4 the protection of international cultural property at 

5 risk due to political unrest, armed conflict, natural 

6 or other disasters, and USAID development pro7 grams; 

8 (4) the Department of Defense to protect inter9 national cultural property, including activities under10 taken pursuant to the Hague Convention for the 

11 Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of 

12 Armed Conflict and other cultural property protec13 tion statutes and international agreements, includ14 ing— 

15 (A) directives, policies, and regulations the 

16 Department has instituted to protect inter17 national cultural property at risk of destruction 

18 due to political instability, armed conflict, or 

19 natural or other disasters; and 

20 (B) actions the Department has taken to 

21 avoid damage to cultural property through con22 struction activities abroad; and 

23 (5) the Department of Homeland Security and 

24 the Department of Justice, including the Federal 

25 Bureau of Investigation, to protect both interVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1887.IS S1887

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1 national cultural property abroad and international 

2 cultural property located in, or attempted to be im3 ported into, the United States, including activities 

4 undertaken pursuant to statutes and international 

5 agreements, including— 

6 (A) statutes and regulations the Depart7 ment has employed in criminal, civil, and civil 

8 forfeiture actions to prevent and interdict traf9 ficking in stolen and smuggled cultural prop10 erty, including investigations into transnational 

11 organized crime and smuggling networks; and 

12 (B) actions the Department has taken in 

13 order to ensure the consistent and effective ap14 plication of law in cases relating to both inter15 national cultural property abroad and inter16 national cultural property located in, or at17 tempted to be imported into, the United States. 

18 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES TO EN19 GAGE IN INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROP20 ERTY PROTECTION ACTIVITIES WITH THE 

21 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 

23 agency that is involved in international cultural property 

24 protection activities is authorized to enter into agreements 

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1 stitution to temporarily engage personnel from the Smith2 sonian Institution for the purposes of furthering such 

3 international cultural property protection activities. 

4 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL 

5 PROPERTY. 

6 (a) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION.—Notwith7 standing subsection (b) of section 304 of the Convention 

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

9 2603) (relating to a Presidential determination that an 

10 emergency condition applies with respect to any archae11 ological or ethnological material of any State Party to the 

12 Convention), the President shall apply the import restric13 tions referred to in such section 304 with respect to any 

14 archaeological or ethnological material of Syria, except 

15 that subsection (c) of such section 304 shall not apply. 

16 Such import restrictions shall take effect not later than 

17 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (b) ANNUAL DETERMINATION REGARDING CERTIFI19 CATION.— 

20 (1) DETERMINATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, 

22 not less often than annually, determine whether 

23 at least one of the conditions specified in sub24 paragraph (B) is met, and shall notify the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jul 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1887.IS S1887

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1 propriate congressional committees of such de2 termination. 

3 (B) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred 

4 to in subparagraph (A) are the following: 

5 (i) The Government of Syria is in6 capable, at the time a determination under 

7 such subparagraph is made, of fulfilling 

8 the requirements to request an agreement 

9 under section 303 of the Convention on 

10 Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 

11 U.S.C. 2602). 

12 (ii) It would be against the United 

13 States national interest to enter into such 

14 an agreement. 

15 (2) TERMINATION OF RESTRICTIONS.—The im16 port restrictions referred to in subsection (a) shall 

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

18 on which the President determines that neither of 

19 the conditions specified in paragraph (1)(B) are 

20 met, unless before such termination date Syria re21 quests to enter into an agreement with the United 

22 States pursuant to section 303 of the Convention on 

23 Cultural Property Implementation Act, in which case 

24 such import restrictions may remain in effect until 

25 the earliest of either— 


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1 (A) the date that is 3 years after the date 

2 on which Syria makes such a request; or 

3 (B) the date on which the United States 

4 and Syria enter into such an agreement. 

5 (c) WAIVER.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

7 the import restrictions referred to in subsection (a) 

8 for specified cultural property if the President cer9 tifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

10 that the conditions described in paragraph (2) are 

11 met. 

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

13 paragraph (1) are the following: 

14 (A) The foreign owner or custodian of the 

15 specified cultural property has requested such 

16 property be temporarily located in the United 

17 States for protection purposes. 

18 (B) Such property shall be returned to the 

19 foreign owner or custodian when requested by 

20 such foreign owner or custodian. 

21 (C) Granting a waiver under this sub22 section will not contribute to illegal trafficking 

23 in cultural property or financing of criminal or 

24 terrorist activities. 


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

2 under this subsection, the specified cultural property 

3 that is the subject of such waiver shall be placed in 

4 the temporary custody of the United States Govern5 ment or in the temporary custody of a cultural or 

6 educational institution within the United States for 

7 the purpose of protection, restoration, conservation, 

8 study, or exhibition, without profit. 

9 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

10 Act shall prevent application of the Act to render 

11 immune from seizure under judicial process certain 

12 objects of cultural significance imported into the 

13 United States for temporary display or exhibition, 

14 and for other purposes (22 U.S.C. 2459; Public Law 

15 89–259) with respect to archaeological or ethno16 logical material of Syria. 

17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

18 (1) the term ‘‘archaeological or ethnological ma19 terial of Syria’’ means cultural property of Syria and 

20 other items of archaeological, historical, cultural, 

21 rare scientific, or religious importance unlawfully re22 moved from Syria on or after March 15, 2011; and 

23 (2) the term ‘‘State Party’’ has the meaning 

24 given such term in section 302 of the Convention on 


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

2 2601). 

Æ 


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