OCTOBER 3, 2008
In This Issue:
U.S. Ratifies Treat to Protect Cultural Property in Time of War

		U.S. RATIFIES TREATY TO PROTECT CULTURAL PROPERTY IN TIME OF
WAR
  
The United States Senate has voted to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for
the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This
international convention regulates the conduct of nations during war and
military occupation in order to assure the protection of cultural sites,
monuments and repositories, including museums, libraries and archives.
Written in the wake of the widespread cultural devastation perpetrated by
Nazi Germany during World War II, and modeled on instructions given by
General Eisenhower to aid in the preservation of Europe's cultural legacy,
the Hague Convention is the oldest international agreement to address
exclusively cultural heritage preservation. The United States now joins 121
other nations in becoming a party to this historic treaty. By taking this
significant step, the U.S. demonstrates its commitment to the preservation
of the world's cultural, artistic, religious and historic legacy.  
Although the United States signed the Convention soon after its writing, the
Pentagon objected to ratification because of increasing Cold War tensions.
Only with the collapse of the Soviet Union did the U.S. military withdraw
its objections, and President Clinton transmitted it to the Senate in 1999.
The public attention given to the looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, and
the looting of archaeological sites in southern Iraq during the ensuing
years, revived interest in the Convention, and the Senate finally voted to
give its advice and consent to ratification on September 25, 2008.  
While U.S. policy has been to follow the principles of the Convention,
ratification will raise the imperative of protecting cultural heritage
during conflict, including the incorporation of heritage preservation into
military planning, will clarify the United States' obligations, and will
encourage the training of military personnel in cultural heritage
preservation and the recruitment of cultural heritage professionals into the
military. Cori Wegener, President of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield,
noted that "Ratification of the Hague Convention provides a renewed
opportunity to highlight cultural property training for U.S. military
personnel at all levels, and to call attention to cultural property
considerations in the early stages of military planning.  The U.S. Committee
of the Blue Shield will continue its commitment to offering cultural
property training and coordination with the U.S. military and to increase
public awareness about the 1954 Hague Convention and its international
symbol, the Blue Shield." 
Patty Gerstenblith, President of the Lawyers' Committed for Cultural
Heritage Preservation, cited among the advantages of ratification, "Most
importantly, it sends a clear signal to other nations that the United States
respects their cultural heritage and will facilitate U.S. cooperation with
its allies and coalition partners in achieving more effective preservation
efforts in areas of armed conflict."  
The Archaeological Institute of America has advocated ratification of the
Hague Convention for more than fifteen years. John Russell, Vice President
for Professional Responsibilities of the AIA, commented that "By ratifying
the 1954 Hague Convention, the U.S. has affirmed its commitment to
protecting cultural property during armed conflict.  The Archaeological
Institute of America will continue to work with the Department of Defense to
integrate the Convention's provisions fully and consistently into the U.S.
military training curriculum at all levels."  
Since the founding of the Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage
Preservation in 2004 and of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield in 2005,
ratification has been among their primary priorities. AIA, LCCHP, & USCBS
formed a coalition of preservation organizations that submitted testimony to
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of ratification, and
worked with members of the Senate to achieve this historic step. The
Statement of the Archaeological Institute of America, the Lawyers' Committee
for Cultural Heritage Preservation, and the U.S. Committee of the Blue
Shield urging Senate ratification, joined by twelve other cultural
preservation organizations, is available at:
http://www.culturalheritagelaw.org/advocacy.  We acknowledge the additional
assistance of the Society for American Archaeology and of the Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago in the effort to achieve ratification
of the Hague Convention. 
---------  
The Archaeological Institute of America is North America's oldest and
largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology, with nearly
250,000 members and subscribers belonging to more than 100 local AIA
societies in the United States, Canada, and overseas, united by a shared
passion for archaeology and its role in furthering human knowledge.  
The Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation is a nonprofit
organization of lawyers, law students and interested members of the public,
who have joined together to promote the preservation and protection of
cultural heritage resources in the United States and internationally through
education and advocacy.  
The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield is a charitable nonprofit organization
committed to the protection of cultural property worldwide during armed
conflict.  
  
For further information, contact:  
 
Archaeological Institute of America
Brian Rose, President
tel:  215-898-4071 
email: [log in to unmask] 
  
Lawyers' Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation
Patty Gerstenblith, President 
tel: 312-362-6175
email: [log in to unmask] 
  
U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield
Corine Wegener, President
tel: 612-839-7654, 612-870-3293
email: [log in to unmask] 
[log in to unmask] 

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