Helping the Hemisphere Recover and Preserve Its Cultural Patrimony
Roger F. Noriega, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs
See below for publication information
July 1, 2004
In a hemisphere where multilateral efforts have focused on combating global terrorism, the scourge of narcotics
trafficking, and the sad reality of trafficking in persons, there is yet another major criminal threat that should not
be overlooked: attacks on nations' cultural patrimony.
Indeed, INTERPOL estimates the value of the illicit trade in art and artifacts worldwide each year at $5 billion--only
the illegal markets in drugs and arms are larger.
Latin America, with its rich and varied indigenous and colonial heritage, has often been the source of items in this
illicit trade.
Consider: in the last several weeks, Spanish authorities announced the seizure of 228 Mayan and Aztec archeological
relics smuggled from Nicaragua; the United States returned two dozen Mayan artifacts to Guatemala after a six-year court
struggle; and Peruvian customs officials seized five mummified skulls from a pre-Inca culture that someone had tried to
mail to California.
The pillage and theft of archaeological and ethnological material robs nations of their cultural patrimony. Pillage
often involves the quick, unscientific retrieval of those items that are valuable to foreign collector markets. Without
the proper scientific recording of the context of a find, it is impossible for an artifact to contribute to a better
understanding of the culture that produced it or to reconstruction of the site itself. Precious historical information
is lost forever.
Fortunately, the United States and our hemispheric partners are taking actions to stem this flow. Since 1983, we have
implemented the 1970 UNESCO Treaty on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer
of Ownership of Cultural Property. This Treaty provides a multilateral framework that is implemented in the U.S. through
bilateral agreements made possible by the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. This allows the U.S. to
impose import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological materials that are subject to the looting that places a
nation's cultural heritage in jeopardy.
In recent years, the United States has entered into bilateral agreements with Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru to restrict the illegal importation of Pre-Columbian artifacts, and in some cases Colonial
period ecclesiastical objects. These agreements also address long-term strategies for safeguarding each country's
cultural patrimony. These include training in conservation, museum practices, and archaeology; promoting sustainable
cultural tourism; and improving public awareness about national heritage concerns. Colombia is the most recent country
in the region to submit a request for an agreement.
In addition, the 1970 Pre-Columbian Monumental and Architectural Sculpture and Murals Statute imposes importation
restrictions on historical patrimony objects without proper export certificates.
Our efforts have paid off: hundreds of archaeological pieces have been returned to their rightful homes in Latin
America due to the action of U.S. officials in collaboration with counterparts abroad.
And beyond the return of stolen treasures, the United States is helping the nations of the Western Hemisphere protect
their cultural heritage in other ways.
In 2001, the U.S. Congress established the Ambassadors' Fund for Cultural Preservation to help less developed countries
preserve their cultural heritage. Projects it has funded include the conservation of historic sites, preservation of
museum and library collections, and documentation of traditional forms of music, dance, and language. The Fund has
supported more than two dozen projects in Latin America--in such diverse areas as the rescue of the Garifuna Afro-Carib
language in Honduras, the digital cataloging of Bolivia's cultural patrimony, the renovation of Guyana's New Amsterdam
Town Hall, and the documentation and preservation of the culture of the Palenque de San Basilio, an isolated Colombian
village entirely inhabited by the descendants of runaway slaves.
These types of activities--whether the return of stolen antiquities or the protection of those still in their countries
of origin--represent the best kind of partnership between the U.S. and our neighbors in the Hemisphere.
Our Hemisphere has a tradition of shared, common values. Helping protect the cultural heritage of one nation helps
protect the cultural heritage of us all.
This Op-Ed was published in the following newspapers: Ultimas Noticias (Uruguay) 7/1/04, EXPRESSO (Peru) 7/2/04, El
Heraldo (Colombia) 7/3/04, La Prensa Libre (Costa Rica) 7/3/04, Diario de Centro America (Guatemala) 7/5-6/ 04, La
Prensa (Nicaragua) 7/6/04, El Comercio (Ecuador) 7/10/04, La Tribuna (Honduras) 7/11/04, El Diario del Hoy (El Salvador)
7/12/04, El Universal (Venezuela) 7/12/04, La Razon (Bolivia) 7/20/04, El Caribe (Dominican Republic) 7/23/04, Eco
Catolico (Costa Rica) 7/29/04, and El Nuevo Dia (Bolivia) 8/7/04.
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