#CultureUnderThreat: Antiquities Trafficking & Terrorist Financing At the Culture Under Threat forum held at the Asia Society headquarters in New York and hosted by the Asia Society, the Antiquities Coalition, the Middle East Institute and UNESCO, Foreign Ministers and senior government officials from around the world joined leaders of arts institutions, archaeological associations, and experts in terrorism to stop the looting and trafficking of antiquities, and halt a major source of funding for terrorism. Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Australia, as well as ambassadors and senior officials from Cambodia, Thailand, Italy, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia joined diverse experts in an unprecedented high-level, multi-sector forum to seek solutions to this black-market trade in “blood antiquities,” which has reached crisis proportions in the Middle East. The group of government, private-sector and NGO representatives, each with distinct roles to play in stemming the illicit trade, was convened by the Asia Society, the Antiquities Coalition, UNESCO, and the Middle East Institute. The host organizations issued a “Call to Action” for the international community to join forces in a strategic effort to halt the trade in conflict antiquities and, in doing so, cut off potential sources of terrorist revenue. The coordinated appeal calls for: • The United Nations to formulate action plans to address “cultural cleansing” • The International Criminal Court to launch a war crimes investigation against those entities that engage in “cultural cleansing” • The international community, to support states in protecting, preserving, and documenting items of cultural heritage endangered by armed conflicts • A global campaign to raise awareness about the purchase of conflict antiquities and terrorist financing • All governments to take steps to prevent the trade in conflict antiquities • All actors involved in the cultural property trade to be vigilant when obtaining antiquities from countries in conflict The participants discussed a range of potential solutions to the crisis, including possible “boots on the ground” to provide site protection; a tightening of national and international laws against looting and trafficking; establishing a moratorium on the trade in conflict antiquities; a so-called “asylum for heritage” plan to safeguard treasures in parts of Syria and Iraq; the creation of national inventories – and, longer-term, a “digital archive” of cultural treasures for the Middle East; and the creation of organizations such as “Archaeologists without Borders” to support countries in crisis with additional resources. #CultureUnderThreat Forum Videos from September 24, 2015 can also be viewed on the Asia Society's website at http://asiasociety.org/video/culture-under-threat-identifying-solutions-and-galvanizing-action-complete

• published: 28 Sep 2015
• views: 189