THE United States Embassy convened law enforcement officials and cultural heritage specialists from Asean member states for the workshop on ‘Combating Cultural Property Trafficking in Southeast Asia.’
Funded by the U.S. Department of State and hosted in the Philippines during its Asean Chairship Year, the workshop held from May 5 to 8 at the Ayala Museum in Makati City strengthened the national security of the US and Asean member states. It enhanced regional cooperation to disrupt criminal networks and terrorist organizations that steal and sell artifacts to finance organized crime and other criminal activities.
‘When cultural objects are stolen, communities lose part of their history and identity,’ Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Y. Robert Ewing of the US Embassy said in his opening remarks. ‘Cultural property trafficking is closely tied to transnational organized crime, and in some cases, to terrorist financing.’
Ewing noted that ‘groups like ISIS have used the sale of antiquities to generate revenue, turning cultural heritage into a tool for violence and instability.’
‘Strong relationships between investigators, prosecutors, and cultural experts are essential,’ the embassy official added. ‘The US stands with Asean partners in this effort. Together, we can disrupt these networks and protect the cultural heritage that defines this region.’
Complexities uncovered
THROUGHOUT the four-day workshop implemented by US nonprofit organization Antiquities Coalition, 20 participants from across Southeast Asia learned about the scope and complexity of cultural property trafficking in the region; the links between antiquities trafficking and financial crimes; approaches to strengthen coordination across agencies within their governments; and provisions of international, regional, and national legal instruments that govern the protection of cultural property.
Executive Director Tess Davis of Antiquities Coalition said cultural trafficking persists due to the art market’s global reach, high value, and weak regulation.
‘This is not a problem any country can solve alone. This trade harms cultural heritage, local communities, and national economies,’ Davis said. ‘That is why the partnership between the US and Asean matters so much. It is fitting that we are gathered in a country whose cultural heritage is among the richest in the region.’ Officials from the US Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations presented American approaches to investigating and prosecuting cultural property crimes. They highlighted the value of Cultural Property Agreements-bilateral agreements with partner countries that prevent trafficked artifacts from entering the US.
Roadmap developed
AT the end of the workshop, participants examined their respective countries’ cultural heritage protection frameworks and developed a roadmap for sustained cooperation among Asean nations, the US, and other stakeholders to combat the illicit antiquities trade. The workshop was built on a high-level US-Asean meeting on cooperation to combat cultural property trafficking held in Jakarta last April, and aligns with US efforts to secure Cultural Property Agreements with countries across the region. The issue spans all three pillars of the Asean community: sociocultural, economic, and security, making the cooperation essential to safeguarding cultural heritage, protecting tourism and local economies, as well as strengthening regional security.
Criminal syndicates and terrorist organizations generate millions of dollars by looting temples, archaeological sites, and museums across the world, then selling stolen objects on the international market to finance terrorist groups and organized crime-the same networks that engage in drug trafficking, money laundering, and armed conflict.
US law enforcement has led global efforts in this fight, as it recovered more than 2,500 trafficked items between 2011 and 2023 tied to the Kapoor network valued at more than $143 million.