Founded in 1879, the AIA was chartered by the United States Congress in 1906, in recognition of its role in the development and passage of the Antiquities Act, which Theodore Roosevelt signed into law that year. Today, the AIA remains committed to preserving the world’s archaeological resources and cultural heritage for the benefit of people in the present and in the future.
It now appears that no action will take place on H.R. 2009, the “Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act.” A new piece of legislation, S. 671/H.R. 1047, is now in process and contains provisions—although not as strong as H.R. 2009 would have been—for the protection of Iraq’s cultural heritage. The AIA supports this piece of legislation and urges the public to help secure its passage.
On September 20, AIA member John M. Russell (Massachusetts College of Art) will go to Iraq to work with the Coalition Provisional Authority as Deputy Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the conviction of Frederick Schultz, a prominent New York antiquities dealer. This ruling affirms the lower courts decision that cultural objects subject to national ownership laws are considered to be stolen property when removed from their country of origin without the consent of that Government.
John M. Russell provided the AIA with an informal report on his visit to Baghdad soon after the end of major combat operations.
On the recommendation of the Professional Responsibilities Committee, the Executive Committee of the AIA at its September meeting unanimously endorsed the Draft UNESCO Declaration Concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage.
In response to the recent looting of Iraqi museums and other cultural institutions, the AIA has formed a Task Force on the Cultural Heritage of Iraq, chaired by AIA President, Jane Waldbaum. We are working with the State Department, other branches of the U.S. government, and other cultural organizations to assist in the restoration of artifacts and manuscripts stolen from Iraq.
In January 2001 the governments of Italy and the United States signed a bilateral agreement to restrict the import into the U.S. of a wide range of archaeological materials from Italy. As part of that Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Italy has agreed to provide a series of exciting opportunities for many Americans.
The AIA Code of Ethics was approved by the Council at its December 29, 1990 meeting, and amended at its December 29, 1997 meeting.
At the 2004 Annual Meeting of the AIA, a plenary session was held focusing on “The Cultural Costs of Waging War.” Presenters discussed the affects of recent military activities in both Afghanistan and Iraq
Adopted by vote of the Council of the AIA, December 30, 1973.
