According to experts, cultural property looted from Iraq and Syria is at risk  of being trafficked to the United States and Europe. Both  organizations are private companies that, according to their  representatives, include some information from the Federal Bureau of  Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies in their  databases, in addition to registering stolen items on behalf of individuals. Agencies and the Smithsonian Have Undertaken Five Types of Activities to Protect Iraqi and Syrian Cultural Property Since 2011

U.S. agencies and the Smithsonian have undertaken five categories of  activities intended to protect Iraqi and Syrian cultural property, including  awareness raising, information sharing, law enforcement efforts, overseas  capacity building, and preventing destruction, as shown in figure 7. Overseas capacity building. For one of these projects, working with  museums and conservation specialists, State established and funded an  archaeological site protection and collection management training facility  in Erbil, Iraq, which State officials said had trained approximately 350  Iraqi professionals between 2009 and June 2016 using public and private  U.S. funds. Preventing destruction. For instance, their training on the use of sandbags and other  materials to protect ancient mosaics at a Syrian museum resulted in the  reportedly successful protection of immovable mosaics at the Ma’arra  Museum in Idlib Province. Art Market Experts’ Top-Rated Suggestions Include Improving Information Sharing, Clarifying Guidance, Creating a Strategy, and Establishing a DOD Contact

Art market experts we interviewed suggested 25 ways in which the U.S.  government could improve its cultural property protection activities. For example, art market  experts reported that looters may steal items from museums and from  storage sites or artifacts from archaeological excavations in Iraq and  Syria. U.S. officials generally agreed with this suggestion and emphasized  their ongoing work in this area. Smithsonian officials  noted they viewed this suggestion as being helpful. Agency officials had mixed responses to this suggestion, noting that  increased training is tied to additional agency resources. Agency Comments

We are not making any recommendations in this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this  report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report describes (1) activities undertaken by U.S. agencies and the  Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) to protect Iraqi and Syrian cultural  property since 2011, and (2) art market experts’ suggestions for  improving U.S. government activities. To determine the activities undertaken by U.S. agencies and the  Smithsonian to protect Iraqi and Syrian cultural property, we reviewed  documents and data related to cultural property provided by the  Smithsonian and U.S. agencies, including the Departments of State  (State), Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), the Treasury, Defense  (DOD), the Interior (Interior); and the U.S. Agency for International  Development (USAID). To obtain art market experts’ suggestions to improve U.S. government  activities to protect Iraqi and Syrian cultural property, we conducted  interviews with a nongeneralizable sample of 35 U.S.-based art market  experts knowledgeable in cultural property protection issues, including  antiquities. Import Restrictions on Iraqi and Syrian Cultural Property

Since 1983, through the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation  Act (CPIA), the United States has restricted the importation of certain  cultural property from state parties to the 1970 United Nations  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention  on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and  Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970 UNESCO Convention). Preventing Destruction. Appendix IV: Complete List and Ratings of Art Market Experts’ Suggestions for Improvements to the U.S. Government’s Iraqi and Syrian Cultural Property Protection Efforts

We asked a nongeneralizeable sample of 35 art market experts to  suggest ways the U.S. government could improve efforts to protect Iraqi  and Syrian cultural property.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other groups have seized upon the conflicts in Iraq and Syria to destroy, loot, and traffic cultural property, including antiquities. According to the United Nations (UN), this destruction and looting has reached unprecedented levels. The UN has also reported that since the civil war in Syria began in 2011, ISIS has used the sale of looted Iraqi and Syrian cultural property to generate income to strengthen its capabilities to carry out attacks. Under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, signed into law in 1983, and other laws, the United States has restricted the importation of certain, but not all, Iraqi and Syrian cultural property.
GAO was asked to examine the protection of Iraqi and Syrian cultural property, including views of art market experts. This report describes (1) activities undertaken by U.S. agencies and the Smithsonian Institution to protect Iraqi and Syrian cultural property since 2011, and (2) art market experts' suggestions for improving U.S. government activities. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed U.S., international, and foreign officials. GAO interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of U.S.-based art market experts representing different categories of the art market to obtain suggestions for potentially improving U.S. government activities. GAO then asked experts to rate the importance of these suggestions and obtained U.S. officials' views on experts' top-rated suggestions.
GAO is not making recommendations in this report.

What GAO Found

U.S. agencies and the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) have undertaken five types of activities to protect Iraqi and Syrian cultural property since 2011, which include awareness raising, information sharing, law enforcement, overseas capacity building, and destruction prevention. For example, the Department of Homeland Security reported coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to open 18 Iraqi and Syrian cultural property cases—such as those regarding smuggling by individuals and international criminal organizations—between 2011 and February 2016. To enhance the capacity of partners overseas, the Department of State (State), the government of Iraq, and others established an archaeological and cultural management training facility in Erbil, Iraq. In addition, to prevent destruction, the Smithsonian and others trained Syrian antiquities professionals to use sandbags and other materials to protect ancient mosaics at a Syrian museum, reportedly resulting in the successful protection of the museum collection when it was bombed.
Types of Iraqi and Syrian Items at Risk of Being Trafficked
Art market experts identified suggestions related to improving information sharing, clarifying guidance, creating a strategy, and establishing a Department of Defense contact as most important to improving U.S. government activities for cultural property protection. For example, art market experts suggested U.S. agencies could work with nongovernmental entities, such as museums overseas and foreign countries, to improve data management. Specifically, they suggested the creation of a database including information, such as museum catalogues, that could help verify if art market items were stolen. U.S. officials GAO contacted generally agreed with this suggestion and reported some ongoing work in this area. For example, State officials noted that State provides funding to support several projects annually to inventory museum and archaeological sites, including in countries where cultural property may be at risk. Agency officials had various responses to other art market experts' suggestions.