Upon the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, news accounts described in grim detail how Iraqs National Museum was pillaged while American forces stood yards away and did nothing. An epidemic of archaeological looting erupted throughout Iraq and continues largely unchecked to this day.
 
To examine international legal issues in protecting cultural property during wartime, in Iraq and throughout the globe, The University of Chicago Law School will host "Protecting Cultural Heritage: Examining International Law After the War in Iraq" on Friday, Feb. 3, 2006. The event is organized in collaboration with the Cultural Policy Center and the Oriental Institute at The University of Chicago.
 
The one-day working conference will culminate with a panel discussion open to the public, 3-5 p.m. in the Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom at the Law School, 1111 East 60th St.  Organizers and participants include:

• Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, U.S. Marine Corps, who led the interagency investigation into the theft and recovery of antiquities from the Iraq National Museum.
• Patrick Boylan, Emeritus Professor of Heritage Policy and Management, City University, London.
• Guido Carducci, Chief of the International Standards Unit, Cultural Heritage Division, United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• Patty Gerstenblith, Professor, DePaul University College of Law, and President, The Lawyers
  Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation
• McGuire Gibson, Professor for Mesopotamian Archaeology at the Oriental Institute and a conference co-organizer.
• Jan Hladik, Program Specialist, Cultural Heritage Division, UNESCO
• Lawrence Rothfield, Faculty Director, Cultural Policy Center at The University of Chicago, and principal conference organizer.

Moderating the public panel will be Kenneth Dam, Professor Emeritus and Senior Lecturer, The University of Chicago Law School.  Eric Posner, Professor, The University of Chicago Law School, will serve as respondent.
 
For conference details, visit the conference site at http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu. Position papers will be posted two weeks before the conference.