U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield
The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield is a nonprofit cultural-heritage protection organization that supports the safeguarding of cultural property during armed conflict and natural disasters.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield (USCBS) is the United States national committee affiliated with Blue Shield, the international network created to support the protection of cultural heritage in situations of armed conflict and other emergencies. Its work is connected to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which established the blue-shield emblem for identifying protected cultural property. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer-facing brand, USCBS functions as a specialist nonprofit organization bringing together expertise from museums, libraries, archives, conservation, archaeology, architecture, education, law, and related fields. USCBS was founded in 2006 by Corine Wegener, a former U.S. military officer whose experience in Iraq shaped the organization’s creation. Wegener was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and worked with staff at the National Museum of Iraq shortly after the museum was looted. That experience highlighted the practical difficulties of protecting collections and historic sites during conflict and helped motivate the formation of a U.S. organization capable of connecting cultural-heritage professionals with military and government institutions. The committee was established as a charitable not-for-profit corporation and is governed by a board of directors made up of cultural-property professionals. At its formation, it received support from major professional and institutional constituencies including the American Library Association, the Society of American Archivists, the U.S. representatives of the International Council of Museums, and the U.S. National Committee of Monuments and Sites. USCBS has also entered into memoranda of understanding with organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, the Archaeological Institute of America, and US/ICOMOS. Its central activities include public education, policy advocacy, military liaison, cultural-property inventories, and emergency response. The organization works to explain why cultural heritage matters, encourage implementation of the Hague Convention, and help identify museums, libraries, archives, religious buildings, archaeological sites, and other locations that may require protection. Inventories and geographic information can be shared with military planners so that culturally significant locations can be incorporated into avoidance and protection measures. USCBS has been particularly associated with cultural-property protection in conflict zones. In 2011 it coordinated information about cultural sites in Libya for dissemination to the U.S. military during the NATO air campaign. The committee has also supported work concerning cultural heritage in the Middle East and received a 2015 grant from the J. M. Kaplan Fund to continue compiling regional cultural-property information. Its activities extend beyond armed conflict: after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, USCBS volunteers and members assisted with efforts to establish a conservation center for damaged cultural artifacts. Advocacy is another major part of its role. Following the destruction and looting of cultural heritage in Iraq, USCBS joined other preservation organizations in urging the United States to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention. The United States ratified the convention in 2009. USCBS later addressed the protection of Syrian cultural property and restrictions on the trade in artifacts removed from Syria during the civil war. The organization’s work therefore combines professional expertise, public policy, military education, emergency preparedness, and international cultural-property protection rather than commercial product sales.
History
The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was founded in 2006 as the United States national committee associated with Blue Shield, an international network of national committees focused on safeguarding cultural heritage in armed conflict and emergencies. Blue Shield’s mission is rooted in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, whose framework includes the blue-shield emblem used to identify protected cultural property. The immediate impetus for the U.S. committee came from Corine Wegener’s experience in Iraq. A former member of the U.S. military, Wegener was deployed in 2003 to work with personnel at the National Museum of Iraq soon after the museum was looted. The incident demonstrated the vulnerability of museums and other heritage institutions during military operations and helped persuade her that the United States needed a dedicated organization able to mobilize cultural-property expertise and communicate with military and government authorities. USCBS was incorporated as a charitable not-for-profit corporation. Its governance model draws on a broad professional base, including specialists in museums, libraries, archives, conservation, archaeology, architecture, education, and cultural-property law. The committee’s formation received support from the American Library Association, the Society of American Archivists, ICOM-US, and US/ICOMOS. It later developed institutional relationships through memoranda of understanding with the Smithsonian Institution, the Archaeological Institute of America, and US/ICOMOS. From the beginning, the organization’s role was intended to resemble a cultural-protection counterpart to humanitarian organizations: it does not provide ordinary commercial services, but helps organize knowledge, advocacy, training, and emergency capabilities around vulnerable heritage. Its objectives include raising public awareness, encouraging governments and armed forces to respect cultural-property obligations, promoting legal implementation of the Hague Convention, and preparing inventories that identify locations requiring protection. A major practical activity has been the creation and coordination of cultural-property inventories. Such inventories can include museums, libraries, archives, religious structures, archaeological sites, and other places of cultural significance. By making reliable location information available to military planners, USCBS seeks to reduce the risk that heritage sites will be damaged during operations. In 2011 the committee assembled information on Libyan cultural sites and disseminated it to the U.S. military during the NATO air campaign. Related work later expanded to cultural-property information in the Middle East, with support from a J. M. Kaplan Fund grant awarded in 2015. USCBS has also contributed to military training. Cultural-heritage professionals have worked under the committee’s banner to provide civilian expertise that military organizations may not otherwise possess. Training emphasizes the legal, ethical, and operational importance of protecting cultural sites and collections. In 2014 the committee gave its inaugural Meritorious Military Service in Protection of Cultural Property Award to Brigadier General Erik Peterson, recognizing military leadership in this area. Policy advocacy became especially prominent after the looting of Iraqi heritage in 2003. USCBS joined other preservation groups in submitting written testimony to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in favor of ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention. The United States ratified the convention in 2009. In 2013 the committee wrote to President Barack Obama seeking protection for Syrian cultural property and restrictions on trade in looted Syrian artifacts. The subsequent Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, enacted in 2016, imposed import restrictions on cultural materials illegally removed from Syria after March 2011. In 2017 USCBS honored Representatives Eliot Engel and Ed Royce for their contributions to that legislation. The committee’s remit also covers natural disasters. Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, USCBS members and volunteers assisted with the establishment of a conservation center for cultural artifacts affected by the disaster. Through this combination of emergency response, inventories, training, institutional partnerships, and advocacy, USCBS operates as a specialist nonprofit network rather than a conventional product brand.
- 2017
Public-service awards recognize cultural-property legislation
[1]USCBS recognizes Representatives Eliot Engel and Ed Royce for work connected with the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act.
- 2016
Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act becomes law
[1]U.S. legislation imposes import restrictions on cultural materials illegally removed from Syria after March 2011.
- 2015
Grant expands Middle East inventory work
[1]The J. M. Kaplan Fund awards USCBS a grant to continue compiling cultural-property inventories in the Middle East.
- 2014
First military service award is presented
[1]USCBS presents its inaugural Meritorious Military Service in Protection of Cultural Property Award to Brigadier General Erik Peterson.
- 2011
Libyan cultural-site inventory is coordinated
[1]The committee compiles information on Libyan cultural-property sites and provides it to the U.S. military for operational avoidance planning.
- 2010
Haiti earthquake response
[1]USCBS members and volunteers assist with establishing a conservation center for cultural materials affected by the Haiti earthquake.
- 2009
United States ratifies the 1954 Hague Convention
[1]After advocacy by USCBS and other cultural-heritage organizations, the United States ratifies the convention.
- 2006
U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield is founded
[1]USCBS is established as a charitable U.S. national committee affiliated with Blue Shield.
- 2003
Iraq experience influences the committee’s creation
[1]Corine Wegener works with staff at the National Museum of Iraq after its looting, an experience that contributes to the formation of a U.S. Blue Shield committee.
- 1954
Hague Convention establishes the international framework
[1]The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict establishes obligations for protecting cultural heritage and provides for the blue-shield emblem.
Products and positioning
A specialist nonprofit intermediary connecting cultural-heritage professionals, government institutions, and military organizations to protect cultural property during armed conflict and natural disasters.
Information and planning resource
Cultural-property inventories
USCBS compiles and coordinates location information for museums, libraries, archives, religious structures, archaeological sites, and other culturally significant places. These inventories are intended to help military and government planners identify heritage assets that should be avoided or protected during armed conflict and emergencies. The committee’s Libya work and later Middle East projects illustrate the operational use of this information.
Training and advisory service
Military cultural-property training
The committee brings civilian cultural-heritage expertise to military audiences. Training addresses the legal, ethical, and practical reasons for protecting cultural sites and collections, and helps service members understand how heritage protection can support stabilization, conflict termination, and post-conflict recovery.
Disaster response · 2010
Emergency cultural-heritage assistance
USCBS assists with protection of cultural property affected by disasters. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, members and volunteers helped establish a conservation center for damaged cultural artifacts, demonstrating the organization’s role beyond military-conflict settings.
Public policy and education
Cultural-property policy advocacy
USCBS advocates for laws, treaties, and public commitments that protect cultural property. Its activities have included support for U.S. ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention and advocacy for restrictions on trade in cultural materials looted from Syria.
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Syria cultural-property protection appeal
United States · Syria
USCBS wrote to President Barack Obama requesting protection for Syrian cultural property and measures to prevent trade in artifacts looted during the Syrian conflict.
Outcome. The advocacy contributed to the broader policy environment surrounding later U.S. restrictions on cultural materials removed illegally from Syria.
- 2011Libya cultural-property inventory initiative
Libya · United States · NATO operational theater
USCBS coordinated information identifying Libyan cultural-property sites and supplied the resulting list to the U.S. military during the NATO air campaign.
Outcome. The inventory was used to help identify archaeological sites, museums, libraries, and other heritage locations for protection and avoidance.
- 2009Hague Convention ratification advocacy
United States
USCBS participated in a coalition of cultural-heritage organizations that submitted written testimony supporting U.S. ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention.
Outcome. The United States ratified the convention in 2009.
Brand decisions
2015
Expand cultural-property inventory work in the Middle EastStrategyBackground
Continuing armed conflict and illicit trafficking threatened cultural sites and collections across the Middle East.
Action taken
USCBS accepted support from the J. M. Kaplan Fund for continued compilation of regional cultural-property lists.
Aftermath
The grant supported the committee’s continuing role in assembling heritage information for protection planning.
Grant. (2015)
2011
Use cultural-property inventories in military planningStrategyBackground
Military operations require reliable information about heritage sites that may be vulnerable to damage or should be excluded from targeting.
Action taken
USCBS coordinated a list of Libyan cultural sites and disseminated it to the U.S. military during the NATO air campaign.
Aftermath
The work established inventories as one of the committee’s principal practical tools for cultural-property protection.
2006
Establish a U.S. national committee for cultural-property protectionStrategyBackground
The looting of cultural institutions during the Iraq conflict highlighted the need for a U.S. organization that could connect heritage professionals with military and government decision-makers.
Action taken
USCBS was formed as a charitable not-for-profit organization affiliated with the international Blue Shield network.
Aftermath
The organization developed programs in advocacy, inventories, military training, institutional coordination, and emergency assistance.
Recent events
- 2017
USCBS recognizes Eliot Engel and Ed Royce for cultural-property legislation[1]
Other
The committee presented its Outstanding Public Service Award for the Protection of Cultural Property to Representatives Eliot Engel and Ed Royce for their role in advancing the Syrian cultural-property legislation.
- 2016
U.S. legislation restricts imports of cultural materials removed illegally from Syria[1]
Regulation
The Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act became law, imposing import restrictions on cultural materials illegally removed from Syria after the start of the civil war.
- 2015
J. M. Kaplan Fund supports USCBS Middle East inventory work[1]
Other
A grant supported continued compilation of cultural-property inventories in the Middle East.
- 2014
USCBS presents its first Meritorious Military Service in Protection of Cultural Property Award[1]
Other
The committee recognized Brigadier General Erik Peterson for military service supporting cultural-property protection and awareness.
- 2013
USCBS asks the Obama administration to protect Syrian cultural property[1]
Regulation
The committee sent a letter requesting stronger protection for Syrian cultural property and action against trade in artifacts looted during the conflict.
- 2011
USCBS assists cultural-property protection planning for Libya[1]
Other
The committee coordinated information on Libyan cultural sites and supplied a list to the U.S. military for use in identifying locations to avoid during the NATO air campaign.
- 2009
USCBS supports United States ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention[1]
Regulation
The committee joined cultural-heritage organizations in providing testimony and advocacy supporting U.S. ratification of the convention on protecting cultural property in armed conflict.
- 2006
USCBS is founded as the United States national committee of the Blue Shield[1]
Other
The organization was established as a U.S. charitable not-for-profit body dedicated to protecting cultural property during armed conflict and disasters.
Sources2 sources
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