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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5703 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5703

  To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk of 
destruction due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural or 
                other disasters, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2014

  Mr. Engel (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
 and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Armed Services, 
 and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk of 
destruction 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. DEFINITION.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
            (2) Cultural property.--The term ``cultural property'' has 
        the meaning given in Article 1(a)-1(c) of the Hague Convention 
        for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed 
        Conflict, concluded at The Hague on May 14, 1954 (Treaty Doc. 
        106-1(A)).

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Protecting international cultural property is a vital 
        part of United States cultural diplomacy, showing the respect 
        of the United States for other cultures and the common heritage 
        of humanity.
            (2) International cultural property has been lost, damaged, 
        or destroyed due to political instability, armed conflict, 
        natural disasters, and other threats.
            (3) In Egypt, recent political instability has led to the 
        ransacking of its museums, resulting in the destruction of 
        countless ancient artifacts that will forever leave gaps in 
        humanity's record of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
            (4) In Iraq, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, thieves 
        looted the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, resulting in the loss of 
        approximately 15,000 items. These included ancient amulets, 
        sculptures, ivories, and cylinder seals. Many of these items 
        remain unrecovered.
            (5) In Syria, the ongoing civil war has resulted in the 
        shelling of medieval cities, damage to five UNESCO World 
        Heritage Sites, and the looting of museums and archaeological 
        sites. Archaeological and historic sites and artifacts in Syria 
        date back more than six millennia and include some of the 
        earliest examples of writing.
            (6) In Iraq and Syria, the militant group ISIS/ISIL has 
        destroyed cultural sites and artifacts, such as the Tomb of 
        Jonah in July 2014, in an effort to eradicate ethnic and 
        religious minorities from contested territories. Concurrently, 
        cultural antiquities that escape demolition are looted and 
        illicitly trafficked to help fund ISIS/ISIL's militant 
        operations.
            (7) In Mali, the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Ansar 
        Dine destroyed tombs and shrines in the ancient city of 
        Timbuktu--a major center for trade, scholarship, and Islam in 
        the 15th and 16th centuries--and threatened collections of 
        ancient manuscripts.
            (8) In Afghanistan, the Taliban decreed that the Bamiyan 
        Buddhas, ancient statues carved into a cliff side in central 
        Afghanistan, were to be destroyed. In 2001 the Taliban carried 
        out their threat and destroyed the statues, leading to 
        worldwide condemnation.
            (9) In Cambodia, following the Khmer Rouge's seizure of 
        power in 1975 the Khmer Rouge systematically destroyed many of 
        Cambodia's Buddhist temples, desecrated statues, and destroyed 
        Buddhist literature. The Khmer Rouge also destroyed mosques and 
        nearly every Catholic church existing in the country.
            (10) In China, during the Cultural Revolution much of 
        China's antiques were destroyed, including a large portion of 
        old Beijing. Chinese authorities are now attempting to rebuild 
        portions of China's lost architectural heritage.
            (11) In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake destroyed art, 
        artifacts, and archives important to the people of Haiti, and 
        partially destroyed the 17th century Haitian city of Jacmel.
            (12) The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami not only 
        affected eleven countries, causing massive loss of life, but 
        also damaged or destroyed libraries, archives, and UNESCO World 
        Heritage Sites such as the Mahabalipuram in India, the Sun 
        Temple of Koranak on the Bay of Bengal, and the Old Town of 
        Galle and its Fortifications in Sri Lanka.
            (13) The destruction of these and other cultural properties 
        represents an irreparable loss of humanity's common cultural 
        heritage and is therefore a loss for all Americans.
            (14) The United States Armed Forces have played important 
        roles in preserving and protecting cultural property. On June 
        23, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the 
        American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic 
        and Historic Monuments in War Areas to provide expert advice to 
        the military on the protection of cultural property. The 
        Commission formed Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) 
        teams which became part of the Civil Affairs Division of 
        Military Government Section of the Allied armies. The 
        individuals serving in the MFAA were known as the ``Monuments 
        Men'' and have been credited with securing, cataloguing, and 
        returning hundreds of thousands works of art stolen by the 
        Nazis during World War II.
            (15) The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was founded in 
        2006 to support the implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention 
        for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed 
        Conflict and to coordinate with the United States military, 
        other branches of the United States Government, and other 
        cultural heritage nongovernmental organizations in preserving 
        international cultural property threatened by political 
        instability, armed conflict, natural, or other disasters.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United 
States to--
            (1) protect and preserve international cultural property at 
        risk of destruction due to political instability, armed 
        conflict, or natural or other disasters;
            (2) protect international cultural property pursuant to its 
        obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection 
        of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and 
        customary international law in all conflicts to which the 
        United States is a party;
            (3) prevent, in accordance with existing laws, importation 
        of cultural property pillaged, looted, or stolen during 
        political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other 
        disasters; and
            (4) ensure that existing laws and regulations, including 
        import restrictions imposed through the Office of Foreign Asset 
        Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury, are fully 
        implemented to prevent the trafficking in stolen or looted 
        cultural property.

SEC. 4. WHITE HOUSE COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY 
              PROTECTION.

    The President shall appoint a White House Coordinator for 
International Cultural Property Protection. The Coordinator shall--
            (1) coordinate and promote efforts to address international 
        cultural property protection activities that involve multiple 
        Federal agencies, including diplomatic activities, military 
        activities, law enforcement activities, import restrictions, 
        and the work of the Cultural Antiquities Task Force established 
        pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (Public 
        Law 108-199);
            (2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees an 
        annual report on interagency efforts to protect international 
        cultural property based on information required under section 5 
        of this Act;
            (3) provide policy recommendations, if necessary;
            (4) resolve interagency differences in a timely, efficient, 
        and effective manner; and
            (5) work and consult with domestic and international actors 
        such as foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, 
        museums, educational institutions, research institutions, and 
        the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield on efforts to promote and 
        protect international cultural property.

SEC. 5. INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES TO PROTECT INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL 
              PROPERTY.

    (a) Information on Activities of the Department of State To Protect 
International Cultural Property.--The Secretary of State shall submit 
to the White House Coordinator for International Cultural Property 
Protection information on efforts of the Department of State to protect 
international cultural property, including--
            (1) activities undertaken pursuant to the Hague Convention 
        for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed 
        Conflict, including--
                    (A) procedures the Department has instituted to 
                protect international cultural property at risk of 
                destruction due to political instability, armed 
                conflict, or natural or other disasters; and
                    (B) actions the Department has taken to protect 
                international cultural property in conflicts to which 
                the United States is a party; and
            (2) actions the Department has taken to protect 
        international cultural property pursuant to other cultural 
        property protection statutes, international agreements, or 
        policies.
    (b) Information on Activities of USAID To Protect International 
Cultural Property.--The Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID) shall submit to the White House 
Coordinator for International Cultural Property Protection information 
on efforts of USAID to protect international cultural property, 
including activities and coordination with other Federal agencies, 
international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations 
regarding the protection of international cultural property at risk of 
destruction due to political unrest, armed conflict, natural or other 
disasters, and USAID development programs.
    (c) Information on Activities of the Department of Defense To 
Protect International Cultural Property.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the White House Coordinator for International Cultural 
Property Protection information on efforts of the Department of Defense 
to protect international cultural property, including activities 
undertaken pursuant to the Hague Convention for the Protection of 
Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, other cultural 
protection statutes, and international agreements, including--
            (1) directives, policies, and regulations the Department 
        has instituted to protect international cultural property at 
        risk of destruction due to political instability, armed 
        conflict, or natural or other disasters; and
            (2) actions the Department has taken to protect 
        international cultural property, including actions to avoid 
        damage to cultural property through construction activities 
        abroad.
    (d) Information on Activities of the Department of Justice To 
Protect International Cultural Property.--The Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall submit to 
the White House Coordinator for International Cultural Property 
Protection information on efforts of the Department of Justice to 
protect both international cultural property and international cultural 
property located in, or attempted to be imported into, the United 
States, including activities undertaken pursuant to statutes and 
international agreements. Such information shall include the--
            (1) statutes and regulations the Department has employed in 
        criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent and 
        interdict trafficking in stolen and smuggled cultural property, 
        including investigations into transnational organized crime; 
        and
            (2) actions the Department has taken in order to ensure the 
        consistent and effective application of law in cases relating 
        to both international cultural property and international 
        cultural property located in, or attempted to be imported into, 
        the United States.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ENGAGE IN INTERNATIONAL 
              CULTURAL PROPERTY PROTECTION ACTIVITIES WITH THE 
              SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Department of State, the Department of Defense, USAID, the Department 
of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of the 
Interior, the National Archives, the National Science Foundation, and 
any other agency that is involved in international cultural property 
protection activities are authorized to enter into agreements or 
memoranda of understanding with the Smithsonian Institution to 
temporarily engage personnel from the Smithsonian Institution for the 
purposes of furthering such international cultural property protection 
activities.
    (b) Salaries and Expenses.--The Federal agencies or departments 
specified in subsection (a) are authorized to pay the salaries and 
expenses of personnel from the Smithsonian Institution to assist such 
agencies or departments in their international cultural property 
protection activities, including in support of military or diplomatic 
missions and law enforcement efforts.

SEC. 7. GRANTMAKING AUTHORIZATION FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR 
              INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.

    The Secretary of State is authorized to make grants to private 
individuals or organizations for the purposes of international cultural 
property protection activities in areas at risk of destruction due to 
political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters.

SEC. 8. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY.

    (a) Presidential Determination.--Notwithstanding subsection (b) of 
section 304 of the Convention on the Cultural Property Implementation 
Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) (relating to a Presidential determination that an 
emergency condition applies with respect to any archaeological or 
ethnological material of any State Party to the Convention), the 
President shall apply the import restrictions referred to in such 
section 304 with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material 
of Syria as if Syria were a State Party to such Convention, except that 
subsection (c) of such section 304 shall not apply. Such import 
restrictions shall take effect not later than 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``archaeological or ethnological material of 
        Syria'' means cultural property of Syria and other items of 
        archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific, or 
        religious importance unlawfully removed from Syria on or after 
        August 18, 2011; and
            (2) the term ``State Party'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 302 of the Convention on the Cultural Property 
        Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601).
                                 <all>
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