Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Lee Satterfield will travel to New York, New York on Monday, August 8, where he will join the Honorable Keo Chhea, the Kingdom of Cambodia Government Ambassador to the States. United and representatives from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USASD) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for a repatriation ceremony of 30 pieces of cultural property, including a 10th-century sculpture “Skanda on a Peacock”, which has cultural and religious significance for the Cambodian people. The Assistant Secretary’s visit will follow Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Cambodia this week and underscores the U.S. commitment to preserving cultural heritage and property in Cambodia and around the world, as well as bilateral and interpersonal relations between the United States. United and Cambodia.
Deputy Secretary Satterfield will also highlight Cambodia’s regional leadership as a partner in cultural heritage protection through the US-Cambodia Cultural Property Agreement, the only such agreement between the US and an ASEAN member. For more than 20 years, the United States has worked to protect, preserve and honor Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage with Cambodian partners, American academic institutions, and non-profit organizations.
Monday’s repatriation ceremony is part of the entire United States government’s approach to protecting and preserving global cultural heritage. Through the United States Cultural Heritage Coordination Committee, 16 U.S. government agencies, led by the State Department and chaired by Assistant Secretary Satterfield, work together to stop the looting and illegal trade in international cultural property, while also promoting legal exchange. of cultural heritage for cultural heritage, educational and scientific purposes.
Monday’s ceremony is open to the media; contact eca-press@state.gov for more details. Follow us on Twitter at @ECA_AS and at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York | Facebook.
