State Department Inks New and Renewed MOUs with Authoritarian Governments After Giving and Getting A Little Help From Its Friends

In the last several months, the State Department has inked a significant number of cultural property MOUs with authoritarian governments.   These include new MOUs with Uzbekistan and Pakistan as well as renewals of current MOUs with Cambodia and Communist China.  Given their authoritarian nature, it is no surprise that these governments have demanded that such agreements cover the cultural heritage of displaced minorities and a wide array of artifacts, including common ones like collector's coins, which are legally, or at least openly, sold in these countries.  What should be more concerning is that our State Department now apparently feels that "soft power" is more important than honestly balancing the interests of impacted groups as Congress contemplated in the  Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act.  And in doing so, the State Department has gone so far as funding archaeological advocacy groups to help "check the box" to help justify such dubious decision making.