The Cultural Property Advisory Committee will meet April 15, 2020, to review a new request for a cultural property agreement from Costa Rica. The Committee invites public comment on the request. The public may participate in the virtual open session of the meeting on April 15, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. EST.
Costa Rica’s Request
The Government of the Republic of Costa Rica has requested U.S. import restrictions on archaeological material from Costa Rica. This request was submitted pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property as implemented by the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. Costa Rica requests U.S. import restrictions on archaeological material of indigenous cultures prior to or contemporaneous with the establishment of the Hispanic culture in Costa Rica, ranging in date from about 12,000 B.C. to 250 years ago. These materials include but are not limited to stone (metates and spheres), gold (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic artifacts), metals, ceramics (polychromatic vases), semi-precious stone (jade), shell, basketry, and other organic material.
The Review Process
The State Department will follow these procedures as it weighs responses to the request for an agreement from Costa Rica.
Comments on the Request
Public comments on the request should focus on the four determinations described in the procedures above. All comments must be submitted in writing no later than April 1, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. (EST). Use regulations.gov, enter docket DOS-2020-0011, and follow the prompts to submit written comments.
Participate in the Virtual Open Session
The virtual open session of the Committee meeting will be held on April 15 at 2:30 pm EST using Zoom, a web conferencing service. Anyone may attend and/or participate. If you are new to Zoom, these tips will help you get started. If needed, please request reasonable accommodation not later than April 1 by contacting the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at culprop@state.gov. Requests made after that date will be considered, but it may not be possible to fulfill them.
To participate
If you wish to participate in the open session at the meeting, you must request to be scheduled by April 8, 2020, via email (culprop@state.gov) in order to be guaranteed a slot. Please submit your name and organizational affiliation in this request. After you pre-register, you will be provided with instructions on how to participate. The open session will start with a brief presentation by the Committee, after which participants should be prepared to answer questions on any written statements they may have submitted on regulations.gov. Time permitting, participants may be asked to provide additional oral comments for no more than five (5) minutes per participant. Due to time constraints, it may not be possible to accommodate all who wish to speak.
To observe
It is not necessary to pre-register. The webinar will include a chat space for conversation among observers. The chat space will not be monitored by the Committee and will not be incorporated into the record of the meeting. Instructions for observing will be posted soon to this webpage.
To join as an observer:
Click the link to join the webinar: https://eca-state.zoom.us/j/300137247
Or by Telephone:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 876 9923
Webinar ID: 300 137 247
International numbers available: https://eca-state.zoom.us/u/aea44jKjax
