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COPYRIGHT UNIDROIT - The International Institute for the Unification of Private


Law 2015

Uniform Law Review (UK)

1 December 2015

Unif. L. Rev. (2015) 20(4), pp 561

LENGTH: 3456 words

TITLE: Illicit trafficking of Syrian cultural property

AUTHOR: Maamoun Abdulkarim, Directorate General of Antiquities & Museums - Qasr Al Hayr st. Damascus -
Syria. Tel: + 963 11 228566; E-mail: dgam@dgam.gov.sy,

TEXT:

Abstract: Syrian cultural heritage is experiencing violent and dangerous attacks during the recent crises. Due to
the absence of cultural institutions, threats against heritage have increased and include illegal excavations; destruction
by armed groups specializing in Antiquities threatening local populations trying to intervene; as well as the use of sites
as battlegrounds. Due to the impossibility of access to some of the sites under ISIL control, information on their actual
state cannot be given. However, 99% of Syrian cultural objects in museums are out of danger having been evacuated to
safe places since 2012. As a result, we undertook several measures: in particular awareness raising campaigns
amongst the population to protect the country's cultural heritage, cooperation with international actors to catalogue the
damage and losses occurring to the cultural heritage of Syria. These included tracking Syrian objects in neighboring
countries and Europe, appeals to all parties to avoid and respect archaeological sites, working with all DGAM
branches (2500 employees throughout Syria) in all areas controlled by the government and opposition. A DGAM
initiative from the beginning of the crises was to gather people by what unites not divides them and this situation invites
all of us to do our best together to put an end to this damage besetting human cultural heritage.

Commercial Law

It is indeed an honour for me to present this article on the occasion of the celebration of the twentieth anniversary
of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law's Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural
Objects. n1 Trafficking in Syrian cultural objects is increasing seriously, and many objects that are a part of our cultural
heritage are ending up in private collections. This Convention is a helpful instrument for us to curb this illicit trade.
Consequently, the Syrian government has decided to sign the Convention, and these last few months we have started to
undertake the administrative procedures needed for adhering to it.

The effect of the crisis on the cultural heritage of Syria cannot be overstated. In several respects, the extent of the
damage is not yet fully known because ongoing problems such as site looting has continued for more than four years
and the

effects of the clashes in many archaeological sites are such that they are subject to damage and destruction. We
warned of a possible cultural disaster through which an invaluable part of the human heritage that exists in Syria might
suffer. We also warned that the latest painful events in Syria, as well as the absence in some regions of specialized
government institutions and archaeological authorities, would contribute greatly to the aggravation of the risk to Syria's
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cultural heritage. Subsequently, systematic clandestine excavations carried out by professional armed gangs have
doubled in number.

In addition, the smuggling of cultural objects across borders has increased remarkably since the neighbouring
countries have not made sufficient efforts to put an end to smuggling across their borders and within their territories.
Vast regions extending across Syria are now classified as 'distressed cultural areas' due to the exacerbation of the crimes
of clandestine excavations and deliberate damage to our historic monuments and cultural landmarks, such as Southern
Hasaka, Dura Europos, Ebla, ancient villages in the Dead Cities, Simeon Castle and its surroundings, Yarmuk Valley in
Daraa, Apamea, and so on. In total, 720 monuments and archaeological sites have been damaged by looting and
clashing. Six sites registered on the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage
List were already officially listed as being in danger in June 2013.

People who were displaced due to the clashes have stayed and lived inside the archaeological sites. Illegal
construction projects are underway within these archaeological areas. Locals have broken the massive building blocks
of the ancient structures into smaller stones that they sell or use for building. Archaeological sites have been
transformed into battlefields, such as Aleppo Old City where a large bomb was detonated in a tunnel beneath the Old
City, destroying more than 151 historical buildings.

The level of danger threatening the archaeological sites is rising due to the absence in some areas of the necessary
governmental institutions and archaeological authorities. A part of the Syrian territory is under the effective control of
the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS), particularly in the north and east of the country. So far, they have destroyed tombs and
valuable statues. For example, several archaeological sites were subjected to serious violations and fierce excavations,
some of which were carried out in a systematic manner by armed gangs of antiquity thieves, particularly in areas near
the borders or in those regions witnessing violent conflicts.

Such damage has violated the sanctity of the archaeological sites in Deir ez-Zor. Antiquity thieves who have
committed the damage sell the discovered finds to local and foreign dealers, which has occurred at some sites, such as
Mari, Dura Europos, Halbia, Buseira, Tell Sheikh Hamad, and Tell es-Sin. This phenomenon is particularly bad in the
far east of Syria at Mari and Dura Europos where ISIS has taken over the sites. Numerous violations damaging the
archaeological levels of Tell al-Bay'ah and other neighbouring tells (hills) in Raqqa have been documented, such as the
blowing up of a sixth-century Byzantine mosaic at Tell

Saeed. Representation statues are being destroyed by the extremist group, which is intent on eradicating unique
testimonies of Syria's rich cultural diversity.

Some sites within the dead cities of Idlib, which are inscribed on the World Heritage List (Gebel al-Aalaa, Gebel
al-Wastani and Gebel Barisha), have been subjected to destruction and serious damage, particularly in the unique
churches they enclose. Information has it that digs are being carried out at these churches, particularly close to the apse,
by antiquity gangs that are coming from Turkey. According to the information received, Kafr Oqab and Kfeir, are the
sites most damaged in the region. The Ebla site was subjected to fierce excavations causing the destruction of part of the
site. Efforts by members of the local community succeeded in controlling the situation temporarily. Despite this
resistance, digs have been active.

The site of Apamea is considered to be one of the sites most affected as a result of secret excavations that are
ongoing around the eastern, north-eastern, and western regions of the city. Moreover, a comparison between two photos
taken by satellite, the first of which was taken before the beginning of the crisis in Syria and the second on 4 April
2012, shows the amount of looting and destruction that the Apamea site has been subjected to due to these secret
excavations. The looting in Apamea began a long time ago, before the crisis started, but much of it was usually carried
out by local people looking for treasure. During the crisis, great stretches of the country escaped State control, and a
mafia from neighbouring countries hired hundreds of people to strip sites, thieves brought in antiquity experts to advise
them of the best places to dig, which were sometimes completed in an orderly fashion but in many cases they
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obliterated the archaeological records by using bulldozers.

Illegal digs have become very common in the city of Daraa, with hundreds of hired men and armed gangs of
antiquity thieves taking part in the digs inside the al-Omari Mosque and at the archaeological sites along Wadi
al-Yarmouk and at Tell al-Ash'ari. If these digs continue at this pace, they might cause irreparable damage. Large areas
in the countryside of Aleppo, such as Tell Qaramel, have been destroyed by means of heavy machinery. In addition,
other sites in this region have been permanently violated.

The looting of Syria's cultural treasures continues unabated. While some of the plunder is small-scale, large
organized gangs are bulldozing sites and selling artefacts on the black market. It is likely that most of the artefacts are
being smuggled to the neighbouring countries aided by the open borders. Lebanon is the only Arab country that
cooperates and coordinates with the Syrian authorities. Unfortunately, there has been little international help in
preventing the looting of Syria's rich heritage. Members of an antiquities smuggling network were arrested by the
Lebanese authorities after having smuggled a number of stolen Syrian archaeological artefacts into the country. These
artefacts had been stolen from cemeteries in Palmyra and from churches in Homs, but they were now being displayed
for sale by antique dealers in Lebanon.

Museums

* In Hama, Syrian museums have witnessed the theft of two archaeological artefacts since the beginning of the crisis,
namely a gilt bronze statue, dating back to the Aramaean era, from the Hama Museum and a stone marble piece from
the Apamea Museum.
* In Aleppo, thieves stole historical pieces from Aleppo's Museum of Folklore, including glassware, Baghdadi
daggers, six spears, and some garments.
* In Jaabar Castle, 17 pieces of pottery, in addition to some clay figurines, were stolen from the exhibition hall.
* In Homs, information provided by the Department of Antiquities indicates that there have been no thefts in the
museum and that all of the collections were transported to Damascus in August 2014.
* In Heraqla, almost 100 gunmen broke into the warehouses of the archaeological building and stole its contents,
comprising hundreds of artefacts, such as different kinds of pottery, plaster ware, pieces of mosaics, and broken pottery
for research, which represented the results of various archaeological excavations at different sites in Raqqa over the
years.
* In Maarrat Al Nu'man, 30 pieces of art were stolen from Maarrat Museum almost a year ago after an armed group
stormed the place. The pieces included small dolls and statues made of clay and mud, broken pottery, and amulets.
Nevertheless, all of the mosaics in the museum are safe and unscathed.
* In Deir Atieh, the weaponry hall in the museum of Deir Atieh was subjected to the theft of historical and modern
pistols and rifles.
* In Idlib, around 15,000 antiquities from Idlib museum that had been locked away in safes are now at risk of being
sold on the black market , after the armed groups captured the city.

In addition, the architectural structure of some museums, such as Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, al Raqa Museums has been
tangibly damaged.

Vision

We have five main goals. The first goal is to raise awareness by unifying the vision of all Syrians concerning
antiquities, with a view to defending and protecting them, since they represent what has always brought our people
together, and urging Syrians to take responsibility for, and safeguard, the archaeological heritage against theft, damage,
and obliteration and to create the feeling in 23 million Syrians that any attack on their antiquities is an attack on their
civilization, their national identity, and their shared memory.

The second goal is to increase the cohesiveness of the staff at all levels. Thanks to its inherited vision, the
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performance of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) has been professional, scientific, and
effective, its cadres have remained united in all governorates, and their efforts have been successful in

many cases and regions. Thus, the DGAM has been making unremitting efforts to reduce the impact of the current
crisis on antiquities and has achieved considerable success at several levels thanks to the endeavours of its cadres in all
governorates. One of these achievements is the protection of the holdings of all museums in Syria and their transfer to
safe locations. Another, and perhaps the most important one, is the positive results attained by cooperating with
members of the local communities in protecting and safeguarding an immense number of archaeological sites.

The third goal is professionalism. Our main concern at this stage is to protect Syrian cultural heritage with all of its
components and to keep it safe as much as possible since it belongs to all Syrians irrespective of their views and
political orientations. The DGAM has never interfered in its battle with the protection of the history, heritage and
memory of the nation. The DGAM has done this by attempting to avoid using the issue of antiquities for political
agendas, which might affect them. Accordingly, the DGAM appeals to all parties to avoid and respect archaeological
sites and their sanctity based on its belief in the significance and sacredness of Syria's archaeological heritage, which is
a source of pride and global uniqueness for all Syrians. It also stresses Syria's international commitment to the
protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict.

The fourth goal is damage prevention and control. From the very inception of the problems, we have developed an
aggressive, pro-active campaign to protect sites and museums. This action needs to be stressed. We responded
immediately to the very earliest emergence of a threat and set things in motion from the very beginning. We did this by
maintaining the cadre of functionaries and guards at full level, and they have been, and are being, paid their salaries
without intermission. The immediate removal of museum collections at the start of the troubles to safe storage has
meant that none of our precious objects has been lost, in contrast with what has happened in other cases where even the
presence of an extensive military deployment was unable to prevent massive looting because of the violence in the area.
Wherever possible, we have intervened to mitigate damage once it occurred.

The fifth goal is openness to the international dimension. The DGAM has maintained active cooperation with all of
the international agencies concerned with the protection of antiquities. On the one hand, this has meant that they have
contributed to keeping up to date the inventory of damages to sites and items potentially in danger, and, on the other
hand, it has meant soliciting the attention of law enforcement agencies and collaborating with them in the task of
stopping the illicit trafficking of items that have left the country. Another important aspect of our commitment to
international cooperation has been the upholding of our long-standing tradition vis--vis foreign expeditions. Syria has
one of the largest numbers of such expeditions, and, throughout the crisis, we have laboured hard to maintain all of the
concessions in operation to the best of our abilities.

Measures taken

The measures that have been taken include:

* to secure, salvage, and stabilize the objects of museums;


* to keep the documentation for movable and immovable objects updated daily with information about damages on
the DGAM website and in publications issued on the importance of the Syrian heritage;
* to unify the vision of all Syrians in regard to their cultural history and to urge them to take responsibility for the
safeguarding of the archaeological heritage against theft, damage, and obliteration;
* to communicate with the various actors involved, and to work in teams with them, strengthening cooperation with
local authorities such as:

* organizations, governmental and non-governmental, universities, and various private associations;


* providing training for university students;
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* in some cases, collaborating with the military in the rescuing of museums; and
* police, customs, governorate, municipalities, and other public bodies.
* to strengthen legislation, governing the reproduction of antiquities; imposing harsher sentences on those who
smuggle antiquities; and implementing site management plans for ancient monuments.

Collaboration with local authorities

More than 6,000 archaeological artefacts were returned during the past year through confiscations carried out by
the bodies concerned (the police, the customs, the governorate, the municipalities, and other public bodies) in
Damascus, Tartus, Palmyra, Homs, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, and so on. In addition, a treasure containing 1,600 silver-plated
bronze coins, was discovered in the region of the al-Shaer mountain between Palmyra and Homs. Finally, many
artefacts that were about to be smuggled in June 2013 were apprehended.

Local authorities have communicated with the various actors involved, worked in teams, and strengthened
cooperation in the protection of hundreds of archaeological sites and museums from looters and illegal excavations.
They also helped by providing information to permit the tracking down of looted objects. For example, when Bosra was
captured by armed groups in April 2015, community collaboration played a positive role in the neutralizing of the
ancient city from ongoing clashes and in supporting the resumption of work by the Bosra Antiquities Department in
restoring and conserving the ancient site.

Local authorities have been open to the international dimension of this crisis by maintaining active cooperation
with all of the international agencies concerned with the protection of antiquities. They have also urged neighbouring
countries to prohibit illicit trafficking in objects belonging to the Syrian archaeological heritage. Several workshops
were held by UNESCO to exchange views and

information with representatives of the archaeological authorities of the neighbouring countries and of international
organizations and archaeological missions. The Workshop in Amman in 2013 was held 'to address the issue of illicit
trafficking' and to define a Safeguarding Action Plan. The workshop in Paris in 2014 was intended to raise international
awareness and establish an observatory to monitor the State of Syria's cultural heritage.

Cooperating with the International Council of Museums (ICOM), local authorities presented both the English and
German versions of ICOM's Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk. Cooperating with INTERPOL,
local authorities coordinated the international actions of INTERPOL with the World Customs Organization, and this
close collaboration was successful in combating trafficking in Syrian antiquities. Eighteen Syrian mosaic panels were
confiscated at the Lebanese border, and 73 Syrian artefacts, which were smuggled to Lebanon to be sold by antique
dealers, were confiscated as well, thanks to the cooperation of the Antiquities Authority in Lebanon and the UNESCO
Office in Beirut.

The local authorities also cooperated with international archaeologists in sharing data about the situation, in the
assessment and documentation of the damage to the archaeological sites, in emergency inventory and digital mapping,
in apprehending the trafficking of Syrian cultural objects, in developing existing databases for the damaged sites (maps,
photos, inventories, and satellite images).

Conclusion

Syria's antiquities are today in dire need of the awareness and solidarity of all Syrians first and foremost in order to
protect them, as the Syrian people will be the biggest losers if they resign themselves to their loss. In addition, the
country is calling for international action in support of local efforts to rescue a civilization universally recognized as
worthy of life and respect, a civilization that is part of the heritage of the whole world.

As I draw to a close, I wish to recall UN Resolution 2199/2015, which we hope will be followed by the immediate
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actions of our neighbouring countries. Finally, it is only proper for me to also thank all of the staff members of the
DGAM and the Ministry of Culture for their efforts and sacrifices in order to safeguard the museums and the objects
they house and to defend the Syrian cultural heritage. Moreover, we extend our appreciation to the local communities in
all regions of Syria who have given the DGAM their support, and we would like to thank the international institutions
that have stood by us in the mission of defending the precious heritage of Syria and the world.

FOOTNOTES

n1 Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects, 2421 UNTS 457 (1995).

LOAD-DATE: January 25, 2016

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