June 23, 2015
The world will not look away.
Ten nations from across the Middle East and North Africa recently pledged a coordinated response to stem terrorist plundering of antiquities sites, to limit terror groups’ capacity to profit on the cross-border sale of stolen artifacts, and to shine a spotlight on those who would purchase plundered goods which finances regional and global terrorism. The joint declaration came at the Cairo Conference on terrorism and culture, organized and co-hosted by the Antiquities Coalition and the Middle East Institute.
Now, as a follow-up to that conference, the Antiquities Coalition is premiering a weekly series of brief videos, Culture Under Threat: Terrorism and Profiteering. The releases will provide findings and conclusions from the unprecedented gathering of international experts, including senior Middle East and North Africa ministers and leading academic and non-government policy and practice experts. Terrorism and Profiteering will offer insights, background, solutions and implementation strategies for slowing and ending the global crisis of looting and terror-fueled cultural destruction.
In today’s first video release, available on the Antiquities Coalition’s YouTube Channel (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-zHugmYH9Q&feature=youtu.be), Iraq’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Adel Fahad Shershab, reminds the world that old-school legal steps will not stop armed groups from controlling land, oil and antiquities.
To subscribe to the free video releases and to be kept informed of upcoming Antiquities Coalition events, click here or send your email address to CultureUnderThreat@theAntiquitiesCoalition.org