American Council for Cultural Policy

American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP) was formed by a group of politically influential antiquities dealers, collectors and lawyers in the United States, with its headquarters in New York and representatives in Washington D.C.

The original goal of this organization was to allow legally excavated archaeological artifacts to be circulated freely and legitimately. ACCP's treasurer William Pearlstein has famously described Middle Eastern cultural heritage laws (especially those of Iraq) as "retentionist" and expressed a desire for the possibility of the free circulation of antiquities Andrew Lawler, (Science 31 January 2003: Vol. 299. no. 5607, p. 643).

Some Archaeologists, academics, and cultural heritage lawyers have found such declarations worrisome, since the members of ACCP are politically influential figures. Archaeological Institute of America's maintain that its members "refuse to participate in the trade in undocumented antiquities and refrain from activities that enhance the commercial value of such objects. Undocumented antiquities are those that are not documented as belonging to a public or private collection before December 30, 1970 when the AIA Council endorsed the , or that have not been excavated and exported from the country of origin in accordance with the laws of that country." (Source: ) It is widely believed by many academics that the trade and collectorship of antiquities fuel the looting and destruction of...
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