On June 1, 2023, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Scott Weinhold, convened a meeting of the Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee. The Committee discussed cultural heritage protection in Ukraine and Sudan, recent multilateral engagement, and trainings and investigations with international law enforcement partners.
Committee members addressed their efforts to preserve Ukrainian cultural heritage and document the damage, theft, and destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage since Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine. The Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and partners continue to monitor over 28,000 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine. The Committee also discussed the armed conflict in Sudan and the U.S. government and International Council of Museum’s initial measures to protect Sudanese cultural sites.
The Committee also discussed the G20 Culture Working Group and U.S. objectives to further the protection of cultural heritage through this forum.
The group spoke about the international investigation and indictment of alleged Hizballah financier Nazem Said Ahmad and eight others. According to Homeland Security Investigations, the suspects allegedly conspired to defraud the United States and foreign governments and evade U.S. sanctions and customs laws through the import and export of goods, primarily works of art and diamonds.
The Committee further discussed the FBI’s recent Cultural Heritage Crimes Workshop in Lima, Peru, which brought together U.S. and Peruvian law enforcement and cultural heritage subject matter experts. As part of the three-day training, the United States repatriated archaeological remains and several Colonial era paintings. [http://www.elperuano.pe/noticia/212871-ee-uu-recupera-bienes-patrimoniales-peruanos-del-trafico-ilicito]
The U.S. Department of State established the Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee in 2016 to coordinate U.S. government efforts to protect and preserve cultural property internationally when it is at risk from political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters.
