[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1493 Engrossed in House (EH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1493

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to 
 political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Protect and Preserve International 
Cultural Property Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 
        on Armed Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Armed 
        Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
            (2) Cultural property.--The term ``cultural property'' 
        includes property covered under--
                    (A) the Hague Convention for the Protection of 
                Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, 
                concluded at The Hague on May 14, 1954 (Treaty Doc. 
                106-1(A));
                    (B) Article 1 of the Convention Concerning the 
                Protection of the World's Cultural and Natural 
                Heritage, adopted by UNESCO on November 23, 1972 
                (commonly referred to as the ``1972 Convention''); or
                    (C) Article 1 of the Convention on the Means of 
                Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, 
                and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted 
                by UNESCO on November 14, 1970 (commonly referred to as 
                the ``1970 UNESCO Convention'').

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over the years, international cultural property has 
        been looted, trafficked, lost, damaged, or destroyed due to 
        political instability, armed conflict, natural disasters, and 
        other threats.
            (2) During China's Cultural Revolution, many antiques were 
        destroyed, including a large portion of old Beijing, and 
        Chinese authorities are now attempting to rebuild portions of 
        China's lost architectural heritage.
            (3) In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, after seizing power in 
        Cambodia, systematically destroyed mosques and nearly every 
        Catholic church in the country, along with many Buddhist 
        temples, statues, and Buddhist literature.
            (4) In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas, 
        ancient statues carved into a cliffside in central Afghanistan, 
        leading to worldwide condemnation.
            (5) After the fall of Saddam Hussein, thieves looted the 
        Iraq Museum in Baghdad, resulting in the loss of approximately 
        15,000 items, including ancient amulets, sculptures, ivories, 
        and cylinder seals. Many of these items remain unrecovered.
            (6) The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami not only 
        affected 11 countries, causing massive loss of life, but also 
        damaged or destroyed libraries, archives, and World Heritage 
        Sites such as the Mahabalipuram in India, the Sun Temple of 
        Koranak on the Bay of Bengal, and the Old Town of Galle and its 
        fortifications in Sri Lanka.
            (7) In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake destroyed art, artifacts, 
        and archives, and partially destroyed the 17th century Haitian 
        city of Jacmel.
            (8) In Mali, the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Ansar 
        Dine destroyed tombs and shrines in the ancient city of 
        Timbuktu--a major center for trade, scholarship, and Islam in 
        the 15th and 16th centuries--and threatened collections of 
        ancient manuscripts.
            (9) In Egypt, recent political instability has led to the 
        ransacking of museums, resulting in the destruction of 
        countless ancient artifacts that will forever leave gaps in 
        humanity's record of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
            (10) In Syria, the ongoing civil war has resulted in the 
        shelling of medieval cities, damage to five World Heritage 
        Sites, and the looting of museums containing artifacts that 
        date back more than six millennia and include some of the 
        earliest examples of writing.
            (11) In Iraq and Syria, the militant group ISIL has 
        destroyed numerous cultural sites and artifacts, such as the 
        Tomb of Jonah in July 2014, in an effort to eradicate ethnic 
        and religious minorities from contested territories. 
        Concurrently, cultural antiquities that escape demolition are 
        looted and trafficked to help fund ISIL's militant operations.
            (12) On February 12, 2015, the United Nations Security 
        Council unanimously adopted resolution 2199 (2015), which 
        ``[r]eaffirms its decision in paragraph 7 of resolution 1483 
        (2003) and decides that all Member States shall take 
        appropriate steps to prevent the trade in Iraqi and Syrian 
        cultural property and other items of archaeological, 
        historical, cultural, rare scientific, and religious importance 
        illegally removed from Iraq since 6 August 1990 and from Syria 
        since 15 March 2011, including by prohibiting cross-border 
        trade in such items, thereby allowing for their eventual safe 
        return to the Iraqi and Syrian people.''.
            (13) United Nations Security Council resolution 2199 (2015) 
        also warns that ISIL and other extremist groups are trafficking 
        cultural heritage items from Iraq and Syria to fund their 
        recruitment efforts and carry out terrorist attacks.
            (14) The destruction of cultural property represents an 
        irreparable loss of humanity's common cultural heritage and is 
        therefore a loss for all Americans.
            (15) Protecting international cultural property is a vital 
        part of United States cultural diplomacy, showing the respect 
        of the United States for other cultures and the common heritage 
        of humanity.
            (16) The United States Armed Forces have played important 
        roles in preserving and protecting cultural property. In 1943, 
        President Franklin D. Roosevelt established a commission to 
        advise the United States military on the protection of cultural 
        property. The commission formed teams of individuals known as 
        the ``Monuments Men'' who are credited with securing, 
        cataloguing, and returning hundreds of thousands of works of 
        art stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
            (17) The Department of State, in response to the Convention 
        on Cultural Property Implementation Act, noted that ``the 
        legislation is important to our foreign relations, including 
        our international cultural relations. The expanding worldwide 
        trade in objects of archaeological and ethnological interest 
        has led to wholesale depredations in some countries, resulting 
        in the mutilation of ceremonial centers and archaeological 
        complexes of ancient civilizations and the removal of stone 
        sculptures and reliefs.''. The Department further noted that 
        ``[t]he United States considers that on grounds of principle, 
        good foreign relations, and concern for the preservation of the 
        cultural heritage of mankind, it should render assistance in 
        these situations.''.
            (18) The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was founded in 
        2006 to support the implementation of the 1954 Hague Convention 
        for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed 
        Conflict and to coordinate with the United States military, 
        other branches of the United States Government, and other 
        cultural heritage nongovernmental organizations in preserving 
        international cultural property threatened by political 
        instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United 
States to--
            (1) protect and preserve international cultural property at 
        risk of looting, trafficking, and destruction due to political 
        instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters;
            (2) protect international cultural property pursuant to its 
        obligations under international treaties to which the United 
        States is a party;
            (3) prevent, in accordance with existing laws, importation 
        of cultural property pillaged, looted, stolen, or trafficked at 
        all times, including during political instability, armed 
        conflict, or natural or other disasters; and
            (4) ensure that existing laws and regulations, including 
        import restrictions imposed through the Office of Foreign Asset 
        Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury, are fully 
        implemented to prevent trafficking in stolen or looted cultural 
        property.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY 
              PROTECTION.

    The Secretary of State shall designate a Department of State 
employee at the Assistant Secretary level or above to serve 
concurrently as the United States Coordinator for International 
Cultural Property Protection. The Coordinator shall--
            (1) coordinate and promote efforts to protect international 
        cultural property, especially activities that involve multiple 
        Federal agencies;
            (2) act as Chair of the Coordinating Committee on 
        International Cultural Property Protection established under 
        section 5;
            (3) resolve interagency differences;
            (4) develop strategies to reduce illegal trade and 
        trafficking in international cultural property in the United 
        States and abroad, including by reducing consumer demand for 
        such trade;
            (5) support activities to assist countries that are the 
        principle sources of trafficked cultural property to protect 
        cultural heritage sites and to prevent cultural property 
        looting and theft;
            (6) work with and consult domestic and international actors 
        such as foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, 
        nongovernmental organizations, museums, educational 
        institutions, and research institutions to protect 
        international cultural property; and
            (7) submit to the appropriate congressional committees the 
        annual report required under section 6.

SEC. 5. COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY 
              PROTECTION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a Coordinating Committee 
on International Cultural Property Protection (in this section referred 
to as the ``Committee'').
    (b) Functions.--The full Committee shall meet not less often than 
annually to coordinate and inform Federal efforts to protect 
international cultural property and to facilitate the work of the 
United States Coordinator for International Cultural Property 
Protection designated under section 4.
    (c) Membership.--The Committee shall be composed of the United 
States Coordinator for International Cultural Property Protection, who 
shall act as Chair, and representatives of the following:
            (1) The Department of State.
            (2) The Department of Defense.
            (3) The Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection.
            (4) The Department of the Interior.
            (5) The Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau 
        of Investigation.
            (6) The United States Agency for International Development.
            (7) The Smithsonian Institution.
            (8) Such other entities as the Chair determines 
        appropriate.
    (d) Subcommittees.--The Committee may include such subcommittees 
and taskforces as the Chair determines appropriate. Such subcommittees 
or taskforces may be comprised of a subset of the Committee members or 
of such other members as the Chair determines appropriate. At the 
discretion of the Chair, the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and section 552b of title 5 of the United 
States Code (relating to open meetings) shall not apply to activities 
of such subcommittees or taskforces.
    (e) Consultation.--The Committee shall consult with governmental 
and nongovernmental organizations, including the U.S. Committee of the 
Blue Shield, museums, educational institutions, and research 
institutions on efforts to promote and protect international cultural 
property.

SEC. 6. REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES TO PROTECT INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL 
              PROPERTY.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and annually thereafter for the next 6 years, the Secretary of State, 
acting through the United States Coordinator for International Cultural 
Property Protection, and in consultation with the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of 
Defense, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report that includes information on activities of--
            (1) the United States Coordinator and the Coordinating 
        Committee on International Cultural Property Protection to 
        protect international cultural property;
            (2) the Department of State to protect international 
        cultural property, including activities undertaken pursuant to 
        the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in 
        the Event of Armed Conflict, and other statutes, international 
        agreements, and policies, including--
                    (A) procedures the Department has instituted to 
                protect international cultural property at risk of 
                destruction due to political instability, armed 
                conflict, or natural or other disasters; and
                    (B) actions the Department has taken to protect 
                international cultural property in conflicts to which 
                the United States is a party;
            (3) the United States Agency for International Development 
        (USAID) to protect international cultural property, including 
        activities and coordination with other Federal agencies, 
        international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations 
        regarding the protection of international cultural property at 
        risk due to political unrest, armed conflict, natural or other 
        disasters, and USAID development programs;
            (4) the Department of Defense to protect international 
        cultural property, including activities undertaken pursuant to 
        the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in 
        the Event of Armed Conflict and other cultural property 
        protection statutes and international agreements, including--
                    (A) directives, policies, and regulations the 
                Department has instituted to protect international 
                cultural property at risk of destruction due to 
                political instability, armed conflict, or natural or 
                other disasters; and
                    (B) actions the Department has taken to avoid 
                damage to cultural property through construction 
                activities abroad; and
            (5) the Department of Homeland Security and the Department 
        of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to 
        protect both international cultural property abroad and 
        international cultural property located in, or attempted to be 
        imported into, the United States, including activities 
        undertaken pursuant to statutes and international agreements, 
        including--
                    (A) statutes and regulations the Department has 
                employed in criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture 
                actions to prevent and interdict trafficking in stolen 
                and smuggled cultural property, including 
                investigations into transnational organized crime and 
                smuggling networks; and
                    (B) actions the Department has taken in order to 
                ensure the consistent and effective application of law 
                in cases relating to both international cultural 
                property abroad and international cultural property 
                located in, or attempted to be imported into, the 
                United States.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ENGAGE IN INTERNATIONAL 
              CULTURAL PROPERTY PROTECTION ACTIVITIES WITH THE 
              SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any agency that is 
involved in international cultural property protection activities is 
authorized to enter into agreements or memoranda of understanding with 
the Smithsonian Institution to temporarily engage personnel from the 
Smithsonian Institution for the purposes of furthering such 
international cultural property protection activities.

SEC. 8. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY.

    (a) Presidential Determination.--Notwithstanding subsection (b) of 
section 304 of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act 
(19 U.S.C. 2603) (relating to a Presidential determination that an 
emergency condition applies with respect to any archaeological or 
ethnological material of any State Party to the Convention), the 
President shall apply the import restrictions referred to in such 
section 304 with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material 
of Syria, except that subsection (c) of such section 304 shall not 
apply. Such import restrictions shall take effect not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Annual Determination Regarding Certification.--
            (1) Determination.--
                    (A) In general.--The President shall, not less 
                often than annually, determine whether at least one of 
                the conditions specified in subparagraph (B) is met, 
                and shall notify the appropriate congressional 
                committees of such determination.
                    (B) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in 
                subparagraph (A) are the following:
                            (i) The Government of Syria is incapable, 
                        at the time a determination under such 
                        subparagraph is made, of fulfilling the 
                        requirements to request an agreement under 
                        section 303 of the Convention on Cultural 
                        Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602).
                            (ii) It would be against the United States 
                        national interest to enter into such an 
                        agreement.
            (2) Termination of restrictions.--The import restrictions 
        referred to in subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that 
        is 5 years after the date on which the President determines 
        that neither of the conditions specified in paragraph (1)(B) 
        are met, unless before such termination date Syria requests to 
        enter into an agreement with the United States pursuant to 
        section 303 of the Convention on Cultural Property 
        Implementation Act, in which case such import restrictions may 
        remain in effect until the earliest of either--
                    (A) the date that is 3 years after the date on 
                which Syria makes such a request; or
                    (B) the date on which the United States and Syria 
                enter into such an agreement.
    (c) Waiver.--
            (1) In general.--The President may waive the import 
        restrictions referred to in subsection (a) for specified 
        cultural property if the President certifies to the appropriate 
        congressional committees that the conditions described in 
        paragraph (2) are met.
            (2) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in paragraph 
        (1) are the following:
                    (A) The foreign owner or custodian of the specified 
                cultural property has requested such property be 
                temporarily located in the United States for protection 
                purposes.
                    (B) Such property shall be returned to the foreign 
                owner or custodian when requested by such foreign owner 
                or custodian.
                    (C) Granting a waiver under this subsection will 
                not contribute to illegal trafficking in cultural 
                property or financing of criminal or terrorist 
                activities.
            (3) Action.--If the President grants a waiver under this 
        subsection, the specified cultural property that is the subject 
        of such waiver shall be placed in the temporary custody of the 
        United States Government or in the temporary custody of a 
        cultural or educational institution within the United States 
        for the purpose of protection, restoration, conservation, 
        study, or exhibition, without profit.
            (4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall 
        prevent application of the Act to render immune from seizure 
        under judicial process certain objects of cultural significance 
        imported into the United States for temporary display or 
        exhibition, and for other purposes (22 U.S.C. 2459; Public Law 
        89-259) with respect to archaeological or ethnological material 
        of Syria.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``archaeological or ethnological material of 
        Syria'' means cultural property of Syria and other items of 
        archaeological, historical, cultural, rare scientific, or 
        religious importance unlawfully removed from Syria on or after 
        March 15, 2011; and
            (2) the term ``State Party'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural Property 
        Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601).

            Passed the House of Representatives June 1, 2015.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
114th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1493

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to 
 political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, 
                        and for other purposes.