The Iraqi Cultural Heritage Protection Aact (H.R. 2009) — What it Does

First, it would prohibit the importation of any Iraqi antiquity or cultural object that left Iraq after August 2, 1990, the date that sanctions were imposed. If documentation can be shown that it was shipped out of Iraq prior to that date, then there is no problem. This provision of the bill has the effect of keeping the current sanctions in place, but only for Iraqi antiquities and cultural materials.

Second, it would amend the Cultural Properties Implementation Act to enhance the President’s emergency powers to impose import restrictions against cultural material from threatened nations without the elaborate procedure currently required. This provision will make it much easier to help bring relief to nations experiencing widespread looting of their cultural heritage.

Third, it would also allow the President to impose import restrictions for nations that are not party to the Convention on Cultural Property. This would help stem the flow of looted artifacts from such nations as Afghanistan and Cambodia, nations where looting is endemic, and there is little hope that their governments will join the Convention anytime soon.

You can access the bill at http://thomas.loc.gov.