What happened to the China MOU request?

Three years ago, on February 17, 2005, the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee held public hearings to consider China’s request for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would restrict importation of certain types of cultural property from China to the United States for a limited period of time (five years, subject to renewal).

China made the request of the U.S., as both countries are parties to the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (UNESCO 1970). Among other things, this convention obliges State Parties to prohibit the importation of cultural property stolen from a museum or monument in another participating country (Article 7b), and allows State Parties whose archaeological or ethnological patrimony is in jeopardy from pillage to ask other State Parties for help in protecting the affected categories of materials, through measures that may include restrictions on imports and exports (Article 9). Furthermore, the U.S. enacted the Cultural Property Implementation Act to make adherence to the UNESCO 1970 into law in 1983.

According to the U.S. State Department’s website on cultural property:

“The U.S. State Department must consider the committee’s findings and recommendations when the committee’s report is submitted …within 150 days of referral of a request to the committee for an agreement”

But more than 1000 days after the hearings, we hear nothing about a decision.

What we are aware of, is that since February 17, 2005, MOU agreements with Italy, Bolivia, El Salvador, Mali, Guatemala, Peru, Cyprus have been renewed, and Colombia became the twelfth country to have been granted a request. Cambodia's Agreement is being considered for a third renewal right now, as we speak. In other words, not only has every request for a Memorandum of Understanding been granted, but each one has been extended, at least once, except for Canada.

So, why not China?

We urge the U.S. Department of State and the President to put this request from China back on the agenda. We ask those in whom we entrust to protect our most important non-renewable resource to put aside any political or economic reasons that have derailed the decision to consider this: Every day that goes by without the import restrictions is another day we are not doing everything we can to protect the evidence of our undiscovered past.

As a sovereign nation, China has the right to seek assistance from the international arena to protect its cultural heritage. Like the U.S., China is a State Party to the UNESCO 1970. When other countries such as Greece, India, Italy, Peru, the Philippines have signed similar bilateral agreements with China, perhaps the question should be:

Why not the U.S.?

America's Commitment to Safeguarding Heritage

The United States is committed to protecting history and heritage from theft. It is no surprise that our nation demonstrates leadership in this area since an overwhelming majority of Americans (96%) support laws designed to protect archaeological resources, according to a Harris Interactive poll. In addition, more than three in five Americans believe that historical artifacts should not be removed from another sovereign nation without that country's assent. This public support gives vitality to America's application of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, the preeminent global agreement that aims to safeguard cultural property from theft, illegal excavation, and smuggling.

Our nation first sought to protect its own cultural treasures when President Theodore Roosevelt enacted the Antiquities Act of 1906. President Reagan built on this legacy by looking beyond America's borders, signing into law the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA), which authorizes the president to enter into bilateral agreements that promote the preservation objectives of the UNESCO Convention. Since the CPIA took effect, the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) has successfully evaluated requests by nations seeking American assistance when those countries' archaeological heritage was jeopardized by pillage. The result of CPAC's work has permitted the president to take action against the illegal trafficking of historical artifacts while simultaneously forging constructive international partnerships. Since 1983, the White House has approved several bilateral agreements that have assisted our friends and neighbors in Canada, Italy,and elsewhere. Continuing this tradition of American leadership is CPAC's recognition that the looting of particularly identified types of ancient coins can place a nation's archaeology in jeopardy. When coins are bound to the archaeological record in a significant and inseparable way, they become infused with irreplaceable historical information. To strip such coins from the ground without first evaluating and documenting their evidentiary value steals history. The forward-looking agreement between the United States and Cyprus, given effect on July 16, 2007, acknowledges this conclusion.

When Congress enacted the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, it determined that America's unique archaeological resources were endangered and required protection. In the same way that the United States acted to secure the cultural heritage found within its borders, our country assists other sovereign nations do the same, thereby helping to protect our collective global history from large-scale transnational looting and trafficking. It is expected that America will continue to vigorously pursue laws, policies, and enforcement programs designed to safeguard domestic and international cultural resources for the benefit of future generations.

Rick St. Hilaire
Vice President, SAFE/Saving Antiquities for Everyone