The Governments of Peru and the United States on Thursday extended their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the imposition of import restrictions on archaeological materials from both pre-Hispanic and Colonial Period sites in the Inca country.
The document —signed 20 years ago— has thus been officially renewed for a further five-year period, which began last week.
According to the Peruvian Culture Ministry, the arrangement has become the Andean nation's "most important and effective bilateral instrument to combat the illegal traffic of its
cultural heritage goods."
In this sense, the MoU has enabled the repatriation of close to 2,000 —mostly archaeological— artifacts. These include the Lord of Sipan's "coxal protector," as well as a batch of 603
pieces.
Official handover took place at Peru's Embassy in Washington D.C.
(END) JCR/SMA/DHT/RMB/MVB
Published: 6/16/2017