Cultural Property Agreement

About Cultural Property Agreement:

• It is to prevent and curb the illicit trafficking of antiquities from India to the USA.
• It is aligned with the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, to which both countries are States party.
• It restricts the importation into the United States of America of certain archaeological material ranging in date from 1.7 million years ago through 1770 CE and certain ethnological material, which may include categories of civic, religious and royal architectural material, religious material and ceremonial items, and manuscripts ranging in date from 2nd century BCE to 1947 CE.
• As per the agreement, the United States of America shall offer to return to India any object or material on the Designate List forfeited to the Government of the United States of America.
• It is to be noted that the USA has already executed agreements with countries like: Algeria, Belize, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, Peru and Turkey.
• Significance: The Agreement shall be helpful in quick seizure of Indian antiquities at US Customs and their repatriation back to India.