On May 7, Charge d’Affaires Baxter Hunt and the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro Ribera, signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding relating to the imposition of restrictions on the importation of certain categories of archaeological materials from Chile.
As representatives of their respective governments, the senior officials signed the document through the exchange of letters. Through this bilateral cultural property agreement, the United States will comply with Article 13 of the The UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
The agreement advances the shared priority of the U.S. and Chile to combat transnational crime and protect Chilean cultural patrimony. The agreement is based in the solid security alliance between the United States and Chile which allows cultural institutions and law enforcement agencies to work together to protect Chile’s cultural patrimony from looters and traffickers. Additionally, it will allow for the exchange of archaeological material for educational, cultural, and scientific purposes.
