The Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF), led by the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center, works with foreign partners to protect cultural heritage sites and disrupt trafficking of cultural property. Cultural property, art, and antiquities are vulnerable to looting, theft, and trafficking by criminal and terrorist groups around the world. To support efforts to disrupt this trafficking, the CATF engaged with law enforcement and cultural heritage experts in two workshops in Cambodia and Ecuador in February 2023.
In Cambodia, CATF supported a one-week workshop in the capitol Phnom Penh and in Banteay Meanchey province on the border with Thailand, organized in collaboration with the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. The workshop brought together 40 cultural heritage experts, heritage police, and customs officers to build stronger connections and to improve investigative techniques and procedures related to cultural property crimes at archaeological sites and museums. CATF trainers from the U.S. Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Tennessee Valley Authority shared expertise with their Cambodian counterparts and learned about the challenges they face in protecting Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage.
Through lectures and hands-on field exercises, participants improved their skills in cultural heritage site monitoring, documentation of damage and looting, and criminal investigative techniques. This workshop sets the stage for additional site security training and community engagement that will be conducted at the pre-Angkorian UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sambor Prei Kuk later in 2023, thanks to the Cultural Heritage Center’s Cultural Property Agreement Implementation Grants Program. Cultural Property Agreements between the United States and partner countries promote a clean art market in the United States, demonstrate U.S. respect for other countries’ history and culture, and expand access to cultural treasures by encouraging the lawful exchange of cultural property through exhibitions and scientific study.
In Ecuador, CATF provided a week-long workshop in collaboration with San Francisco de Quito University for members of Ecuador’s anti-trafficking task force and Ecuadorian cultural property experts, with the goal of reducing cultural property crimes and strengthening the rule of law. Participants shared best practices on investigating cultural property crime, handling and collecting evidence, paths to repatriation, and the importance of preserving heritage—especially that of Indigenous communities.
Participants were also taught technical skills in documentation, photography, and object handling, and applied those skills during a practical exercise at a local church. CATF trainers demonstrated how proper archiving and storage of objects can improve security for Ecuador’s invaluable cultural heritage and help prevent trafficking and theft. Well-documented artifacts, when stolen, are more easily identified and potentially intercepted by police. Finally, the program promoted understanding between citizens and law enforcement officials concerning cultural heritage protection in Ecuador.The Cultural Antiquities Task Force has conducted several other international trainings, most recently in Chile, Cyprus, Greece, and Qatar. The CATF is a law enforcement-focused working group of the U.S. Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee. Both are managed by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.
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