The Cultural Heritage Centerhttp://eca.state.gov/cultural-heritage-center Cultural Heritage Center website of the American

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world. It is responsible for the Un ...

specializes in the protection and preservation of the world's ancient and historic monuments and archeological sites.

The International Cultural Property Protection initiative

The 1970

UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property is an international treaty. The treaty, signed to combat the illegal trade in cultural items, was signe ...

provides a framework for cooperation among nations to reduce the incentive for pillage of archaeological and ethnological material. Stolen or illegally exported artifacts in the United States strains relations with the countries of origin. Restrictions on importation are intended to reduce the incentive for pillage by encouraging a legal trade in documented materials and discouraging trade in undocumented materials.

Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation

The

Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is one of many programs run by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as part of its mission of public diplomacy through educational and cultural programming and ...

provides direct grant support for the preservation of cultural sites, cultural objects, and collections, as well as forms of

traditional cultural expressions Cultural expressions are creative manifestations of the cultural identities of their authors. They are treated in the international legal system in terms of cultural rights, intellectual property law and international trade. Definition The objec ...

, in countries around the world.

Iraq Cultural Heritage Initiative

The United States works with Iraq to protect and preserve

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

's past by engaging American institutional partners to collaborate with the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. These include infrastructure upgrades at the

National Museum of Iraq The Iraq Museum ( ar, المتحف العراقي) is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq, a recent phenomenon influenced by other nations' naming of their national museum ...

, site management planning and architectural conservation in

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

, and training Iraqi professionals in the conservation of objects, sites, and monuments at a specialized institute in

Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Hu ...

Cultural Heritage Center Projects

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

Towers Documentation Project * Support for the Cultural Heritage of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

* ICOM Red Lists of Antiquities at Risk The Central supports

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws.

Notes and references

United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs {{US-gov-stub