[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3497 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3497
To provide for the recovery, restitution, and protection of the
cultural heritage of Iraq.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2003
Mr. English (for himself and Mr. Leach) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the recovery, restitution, and protection of the
cultural heritage of Iraq.
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 ``Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) cultural property is defined by the 1954 Hague
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event
of Armed Conflict as ``movable or immovable property of great
importance to the cultural heritage of every people, such as
monuments of architecture, art or history . . .; archaeological
sites; groups of buildings which, as a whole, are of historical
or artistic interest; works of art; manuscripts, books and
other objects of artistic, historical or archaeological
interest; as well as scientific collections and important
collections of books or archives . . .'';
(2) the region of present day Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia),
located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is known as
the ``Cradle of Civilization'', the birthplace of numerous
societies that moved civilization from prehistory to history,
and the native land of many Biblical and Koranic events;
(3) the cities and rural areas of Iraq are home to some of
the oldest human settlements in the world as well as more than
10,000 identified archaeological sites of cultural and
historical importance and tens of thousands of other
unexcavated sites;
(4) Iraq continues to serve as one of the prime centers of
Islamic art and culture;
(5) in the 4th millennium B.C., long before the emergence
of Greek or Roman culture, the Sumerian culture flourished in
the region of present day Iraq, inventing the wheel, the first
plow, the first ever sophisticated irrigation system, the
earliest form of writing (cuneiform), and the first used
calendar;
(6) southern Iraq is home to the site of the ancient
Sumerian city of Uruk, known to many as the first true
civilized city and home to the legendary King Gilgamesh who
built the city's famous great wall;
(7) the city of Ur, which flourished in the 3rd millennium
B.C., and is partially excavated but yet to be completely
uncovered, is said to be the birthplace of Abraham;
(8) Qurna at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers is said to be the possible location of the Garden of
Eden;
(9) the city of Ur holds one of the world's oldest and most
important ziggurats, a high rising temple of sunbaked and oven
baked brick with outside staircases leading to the shrine on
top and associated temples, partially excavated but yet to be
completely uncovered;
(10) the city of Ur is the location of one of the greatest
archaeological finds of the 20th century, a cemetery in which
ancient Sumerian royalty were buried along with their servants
and extravagant treasures;
(11) near the city of Ur is the archaeological site of Tel
Al-Ubaid, where ancient pottery and sculptures dating back to
4,500 B.C. were unearthed;
(12) the Akkadian Empire ruled the region of present day
Iraq in the 3rd millennium B.C. and developed new systems of
weights and measures as well as some of the highest quality
works of art;
(13) the Babylonian people briefly ruled the region of
present day Iraq in the 2nd millennium B.C. and developed the
capital city of Babylon which became the commercial and
cultural center of the Middle East for 2000 years;
(14) the city of Babylon, flourishing from approximately
1700 to the 6th century B.C., was the center of operations for
historical leaders such as Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar;
(15) Hammurabi of Babylon promulgated a famous law code
that provided precedents for both the Biblical Ten Commandments
and later legal codes;
(16) Babylon was home to the captive Israelites in the 6th
century B.C. according to the Biblical book of Second Kings and
the location of great archaeological finds including the Ishtar
Gate, an enormous brick entryway into the ancient city, and
famous as the site of the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven
Wonders of the World, and the Biblically-referenced Tower of
Babel;
(17) the site of Nippur, approximately 100 miles south of
Babylon, has yielded a vast collection of clay tablets with
cuneiform writing, including the oldest known record of a
murder trial, dating back to 1850 B.C.;
(18) in 762 A.D., the city of Baghdad, founded under the
rule of al-Mansur, the second caliph of the Abbasid dynasty,
was the central commercial, cultural, philosophical, and
intellectual capital of the world during the 9th century and
for a time the center of an empire that stretched from Central
Asia to Spain;
(19) the city of Baghdad contains the Kadhimain mosque, the
shrines of Abu Hanifa and Abd al-Qader al-Gailani, and many
other medieval buildings, including other tombs, mosques,
minarets, and the 13th century Mustansiriya University (an
Islamic law school);
(20) located sixty miles north of Baghdad is the Abbasid
city of Samarra, the home to the famous Great Mosque, as well
as the Abu Dalaf mosque with a spiral minaret, and other
important buildings dating from 800-1200 A.D.;
(21) in the modern city of Samarra, the tombs of the Tenth
and Eleventh Caliphs, as well as the portal for the return of
the Twelfth Caliph, are of great significance for a major
segment of Shi'a Islam;
(22) the tombs of the Fourth Caliph Ali and his son Husayn
are located in Najaf and Karbala (respectively), which are the
two most holy cities of the Shiite branch of Islam;
(23) located in Iraq's third largest city, Mosul, are a
Great Mosque, dating from the late 9th or early 10th century
A.D., and nearby an ancient leaning brick minaret, that is all
that is left of an Ommayad mosque dating from 640 A.D.;
(24) in the city of Mosul is located the site of the
ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, which is referenced by the
Biblical prophet Zephaniah, was the site of the prophet Jonah's
sermons, and includes royal Assyrian palaces and more than
20,000 cuneiform tablets from King Ashurbanipal's library;
(25) south of the city of Mosul is located the ancient
Assyrian capital of Nimrud, the Biblical Calah, site of the
best-preserved Assyrian palace, in which were found rich royal
tombs of Assyrian queens in 1989;
(26) near Mosul are also located the Assyrian capitals of
Ashur and Khorsabad, in which have been excavated priceless
treasures, including colossal human-headed winged bulls;
(27) the city of Ashur and another capital, Kar Tukulti
Ninurta, across the Tigris have remains of three palaces and
hold great works of art from the royal Assyrian workshops of
the 13th century B.C., residences of merchants from the 18th
century B.C., and temples built before the 21st century B.C.,
many of which have not yet been excavated;
(28) the site of the ancient city of Hatra, located west of
Mosul, is known as the ``City of the Sun'' which holds many
archaeological remains, especially Parthian artifacts, and
served as a trade and military route along the Wadi Tharthar;
(29) located at the site of the Parthian and later
Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon, 20 miles southeast of Baghdad,
are the remains of a gigantic vaulted hall, the Taq Kisra,
which has one of the largest single-span brick arches in the
world and is extremely fragile;
(30) it should be recognized that the aforementioned Iraqi
cities and archaeological sites comprise a representative but
not comprehensive list of endangered cultural antiquities;
(31) despite extensive efforts by U.S. and coalition forces
to limit damage to archaeological and cultural sites during
Operation Iraqi Freedom, looting has been widespread in the
aftermath of the military conflict. Thousands of items are
reported missing from the National Museum, the Archives,
Library and the modern art museum in Baghdad, and large-scale
looting has occurred at numerous recorded and unrecorded
archaeological sites, including Adab, Umm al-Aqarib, Isin,
Larsa, Nippur, Zabalam, Shuruppak, and Umm al-Hafriyat.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``archaeological material of Iraq''--
(A) means any object or fragment or part of an
object that was first found within the borders of Iraq
and that--
(i) was built, manufactured, sculpted,
produced, or written by humans;
(ii) is at least 100 years old; and
(iii) was discovered as a result of
scientific excavation, illegal or clandestine
digging, accidental discovery, or exploration
on land or under water;
(B) includes all human and animal skeletal remains,
as well as floral and botanical remains, that are found
in association with archaeological material described
in subparagraph (A); and
(C) does not include any coin or coin-like object
that is less than 250 years old;
(2) the term ``coin or coin-like object'' means any piece
of gold, silver, or other metal or material, that is--
(A) fashioned into a prescribed shape, weight, or
degree of fineness, and
(B) stamped or embellished with a device, by the
authority of a government or governmental or quasi-public authority in
order that the piece may circulate as currency;
(3) the term ``cultural material of Iraq'' means any
object, regardless of age, including manuscripts, and materials
used for traditional or religious ceremonial purposes, or a
fragment or part of an object, that was, on or after August 2,
1990, in the care of Iraq's cultural or religious institutions
and is of historic, artistic, religious, scientific, or
cultural interest.
SEC. 4. IMPORT RESTRICTION.
(a) Import Prohibition.--No archaeological material of Iraq or
cultural material of Iraq that was removed from Iraq after Executive
Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, was issued may be imported into the
United States, unless the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of
the Department of Homeland Security determines that exportation of the
material from Iraq was lawful pursuant to a valid certification or
other documentation issued by the appropriate governing authority in
Iraq certifying that the exportation of the material was not in
violation of the laws of Iraq.
(b) Customs Action in Absence of Documentation.--If the consignee
of any archaeological material of Iraq or cultural material of Iraq is
unable to present to the appropriate customs officer at the time of
making entry of such material the certification or other documentation
by the appropriate governing authority in Iraq required under
subsection (a), the customs officer shall detain the material, and
shall send it to a bonded warehouse or store to be held at the risk and
expense of the consignee, notwithstanding any other provision of law,
until such certification or other documentation is filed with such
officer. If such certification or other documentation is not presented
within 90 days after the date on which such material is detained, or
such longer period as may be allowed by the Secretary of Homeland
Security for good cause shown, the material shall be subject to seizure
and forfeiture.
(c) Lifting of Import Prohibitions.--The import prohibitions
imposed under this Act on archaeological or cultural material of Iraq
shall cease to be effective with respect to archaeological or cultural
material that is removed from Iraq at the end of the 6-month period
beginning on the date on which paragraph 7 of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1483, adopted on May 22, 2003, ceases to be
effective or is suspended pursuant to a decision of the United Nations
Security Council.
SEC. 5. FORFEITURE OF UNLAWFUL IMPORTS.
(a) Seizure.--Archaeological material of Iraq or cultural material
of Iraq that is imported into the United States in violation of this
Act shall be seized and subject to forfeiture under the customs laws of
the United States. All provisions of law relating to seizure,
forfeiture, and condemnation for violation of the customs laws shall
apply to seizures and forfeitures under this Act, insofar as those
provisions of law are applicable to, and not inconsistent with, the
provisions of this Act.
(b) Disposition of Articles.--Any archaeological material of Iraq
or cultural material of Iraq that is forfeited to the United States
under this Act shall be returned to the country of Iraq.
SEC. 6. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.
In applying the Tariff Act of 1930 or any other provision of the
customs laws of the United States to an article that is an object, or
fragment of an object, discovered as a result of scientific excavation,
illegal or clandestine digging, accidental discovery, or exploration on
land or under water, the country of origin of the object or fragment is
the country within whose borders, as they exist at the time the object
or fragment is imported, or attempted to be imported, into the United
States, the object or fragment was first discovered or excavated.
SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO CONVENTION ON CULTURAL PROPERTY IMPLEMENTATION
ACT.
(a) Definition of Archaeological or Ethnological Material.--Section
302 of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19
U.S.C. 2601) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(i)--
(A) by amending subclause (II) to read as follows:
``(II) subject to subclause (IV), is at
least 100 years old''; and
(B) by inserting after subclause (III) the
following:
``(IV) in the case of any coin or coin-like
object, is at least 250 years old; and'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (11) as
paragraphs (4) through (12), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) The term `coin or coin-like object' means any piece
of gold, silver, or other metal or material, that is--
``(A) fashioned into a prescribed shape, weight, or
degree of fineness, and
``(B) stamped or embellished with a device,
by the authority of a government or governmental or quasi-
public authority in order that the piece may circulate as
currency.''.
(b) Emergency Implementation of Import Restrictions.--Section 304
of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C.
2603) is amended--
(1) by striking ``State Party'' each place it appears and
inserting ``country''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
``(1) No import restrictions under section 307 may be
applied under this section to the archaeological or
ethnological materials of any country for more than 10 years
after the date on which the notice in the Federal Register
imposing such restrictions is published. Such 10-year period
may be extended by the President for additional periods if the
President determines that the emergency condition continues to
apply with respect to the archaeological or ethnological
material.''; and
(B) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by redesignating such paragraph as
paragraph (2); and
(ii) by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (1)''.
(c) Cultural Property Advisory Committee.--Section 306 of the
Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2605) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) by striking ``eleven'' and inserting
``thirteen'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Two'' and
inserting ``Three''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) One member who shall be an expert in the
field of conservation of archaeological or ethnological
artifacts, sites, or related areas.'';
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ``Six'' and inserting
``Seven'';
(3) in subsection (f)--
(A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesignating
paragraphs (4) through (6) as paragraphs (3) through
(5), respectively; and
(B) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``or the implementation of
emergency action under section 304''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or
action''.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--The Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act is amended--
(1) in section 302 (19 U.S.C. 2601)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by amending the matter preceding
subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
``(2) The term `archaeological or ethnological material' of
a State Party or other country means--''; and
(ii) in the matter following subparagraph
(C), by inserting ``or other country'' after
``State Party''; and
(B) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by subsection
(a)(2) of this section, by inserting ``or another
country'' after ``State Party'';
(2) in section 305 (19 U.S.C. 2604) in the first sentence,
by striking ``by such action'' and inserting ``the country
covered by such action'';
(3) in section 307 (19 U.S.C. 2606)--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``the State Party'' the
first place it appears and inserting ``the
country concerned''; and
(ii) by striking ``the State Party'' each
subsequent place it appears and inserting
``that country''; and
(B) in subsections (b) and (c), by striking ``the
State Party'' each place it appears and inserting ``the
country concerned'';
(4) in section 310(b) (19 U.S.C. 2609(b)) by striking
``State Party'' each place it appears and inserting ``country
concerned''; and
(5) in section 312(2)(C) (19 U.S.C. 2611(2)(C)), by
striking ``State Party'' and inserting ``country''.
(e) Extension of Agreements.--
(1) Extension.--Section 303 of the Convention on Cultural
Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602) is amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by striking ``five-year''
and inserting ``10-year''; and
(B) in subsection (e), by striking ``five years''
and inserting ``10 years''.
(2) Existing agreements.--Any agreement that is entered
into under section 303(a) of the Convention on Cultural
Property Implementation Act before the date of enactment of
this Act and is in effect on such date of the enactment, shall
be effective for a period of ten years beginning on the date on
which the agreement entered into force with respect to the
United States.
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