Decision 41 COM 7B.66

Royal Palaces of Abomey (Benin) (C 323bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7B.37, adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Noting that the State Party has made available funds for the evaluation and revision of the management plan, urges the State Party to act as soon as possible to start this process and to transmit these documents to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies;
4. Takes note that the State Party has carried out renovation work on the eight huts of the Houégbadja Palace and parts of the Gbéhanzin Palace, which had been damaged by fires in 2015;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to ensure that intrusive or non-conforming construction work on the property is prevented, and that priority is given to finalizing the plan for the management of risks, disasters and other hazards to the property, including fires, and to transmit it to the World Heritage Centre, and recalls the obligation to inform the World Heritage Centre, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, of any significant project or restoration that could modify the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, or of any incident;
6. Also takes note of the feasibility studies for projects aiming to enhance Abomey as a tourism hub launched by the State Party and encourages it to develop a holistic tourism strategy in the framework of the management plan;
7. Recognizes the actions taken since the State Party's last report in 2015 but expresses its concern about the general state of conservation of the property and the insufficient progress since the property was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger In 2007, and requests the State Party to implement as soon as possible all the recommendations of the 2012 and 2016 Reactive Monitoring missions;
8. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2018, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 43rd session in 2019.