The Cultural Heritage Center[1] of the American Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs specializes in the protection and preservation of the world's ancient and historic monuments and archeological sites.
The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property provides a framework for cooperation among nations to reduce the incentive for pillage of archaeological and ethnological material.
Stolen or illegally exported artifacts in the United States strains relations with the countries of origin.
These include infrastructure upgrades at the National Museum of Iraq, site management planning and architectural conservation in Babylon, and training Iraqi professionals in the conservation of objects, sites, and monuments at a specialized institute in Erbil.
The Central supports UNESCO's Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws.