On April 18, 2003, the Policy Board of the National Coalition for History (NCH) adopted the following resolution regarding the heritage crisis in Iraq:
Resolved, that the NCH Policy Board approve the NCH “Statement on Iraqi Heritage Crisis” as revised and corrected [see text below]; that keeping in mind the array of the NCH’s diverse membership, constituent groups are encouraged to adopt it in whole or in part and to include such relevant portions in their individual organizational statements.
Statement on the Cultural Heritage Crisis in Iraq
The National Coalition for History (NCH) condemns in the strongest terms the looting and destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq. The pillaging of the Museum of Antiquities, the “House of Wisdom” (the Iraqi historical archives building), the National Library, and the Library of the Korans in Baghdad, as well as the looting, burning, and destruction of other museums, libraries, and sites of historical, archeological, and artistic significance across the country, has shocked and saddened the American historical and archival communities.
Cultural heritage and material culture inherited from our ancestors and under the stewardship of nation-states are among humanity’s greatest treasures and are a part of the inestimable and irreplaceable wealth of humankind. As such, it is worthy of our greatest efforts to preserve, restore, and maintain each nation’s heritage.
We recognize that during the fierce fighting in Iraq over the past few weeks, military leaders and Coalition partners took precautions to avoid targeting and bombing of cultural sites as well as other non-military sites. Nevertheless, acts of looting, vandalism, and willful destruction of heritage sites, institutions, and repositories have taken place.
We call on Coalition forces to use all means at their disposal to stop the pillaging and protect Iraqi heritage sites and cultural institutions and repositories. If allowed to go unchecked, already catastrophic destruction may easily spread to hundreds of more remote, but equally valuable heritage sites and institutions.
We call for the protection of our col leagues, the Iraqi professionals and scholars who work in these places, thus enabling them to carry out their stewardship duties.
We call for the immediate adoption of strict and detailed plans formulated in cooperation with Iraqi heritage professionals to attempt to recover the stolen artifacts and archival records and make every effort to reconstruct the Iraqi national collections. This should be done through strict monitoring of illicit trade within Iraq and its border nations by Coalition forces; through police action, international cooperation, import and export interdictions and other such mean as necessary and appropriate that may prove effective in this endeavor.
We call on governmental entities, museums, art dealers, auction houses, and private antiquities and document collectors to adhere to the provisions of the Convention of the International Return of Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects and other such relevant international conventions and applicable national laws relating to the trafficking and sale of stolen property. Museums, archives, and historical organizations in the United States and throughout the world adhere to established professional codes of ethics and guidelines governing the acquisition and disposition of cultural property. These codes establish that museum objects, library books, historical archival materials, and other cultural property are the property of respective nations. We call on all such institutions to adhere to these guidelines.
We call on the governments of the Coalition forces to attend to immediate priorities—clean water, hospitals, food and restoration of civil authority—but also to insure that funds, including monies provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) destined for post-war recovery and reconstruction, are used to benefit cultural resources and institutions, including expenditures for immediate physical and institutional reconstruction of Iraq’s cultural agencies and organizations.
Finally, the NCH in partnership with other heritage organizations is assessing how our respective communities can be of immediate and continuing assistance to heritage professionals of Iraq as they address how best to respond to this tragic situation. To that end, we pledge to continue to work in full partnership and cooperation with other national and international entities and organizations to share information, and coordinate actions in our ongoing effort to address the Iraqi cultural heritage crisis.
