Decision 46 COM 7

State of Conservation of World Heritage Properties

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7,
2. Recalling Decisions 42 COM 7, 43 COM 7.2, 44 COM 7.2, 45 COM 7.1 and 45 COM 7.2 adopted at its 42nd (Manama, 2018) and 43rd (Baku, 2019) sessions, and its extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Also recalling that all proposed major interventions in and around World Heritage properties should be subject to rigorous impact assessments, as outlined in Paragraph 118bis of the Operational Guidelines, in line with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context, and that both the proposals and the impact assessment-related documentation be submitted, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, before any interventions for new construction, demolition, modification, recovery or reconstruction commences or decisions made that cannot be reversed;

Improving the perception of the List of World Heritage in Danger

4. Reaffirming that the inscription of a property on the List of World Heritage in Danger aims to mobilize international support to help States Parties to effectively address the challenges faced by the properties concerned,

5. Also reaffirming the need to promote a better understanding of the implications and benefits of properties being inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, welcomes the Secretariat’s information material entitled “Implementing New Visions: a Guidebook for action on the List of World Heritage in Danger (2024)” and thanks the State Party of Norway for its financial support to this end;

6. Encourages the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage-related Category 2 Centres to disseminate widely this guidebook through appropriate means, including in local languages, to the World Heritage community at large and the broader public, with a view to contributing to a more positive perception of the List of World Heritage in Danger;

Emergency situations resulting from conflicts

7. Expresses utmost concern that conflicts (including armed conflict and civil unrest) continue to represent a major threat to World Heritage properties and remain one of the major reasons for the inscription of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger;

8. Regrets the loss of human life and the degradation of humanitarian conditions resulting from the prevailing conflict situations, including threats to the personnel and local communities in and around World Heritage properties;

9. Welcomes protection and conservation efforts being undertaken by the concerned States Parties at World Heritage properties in current and former conflict zones and that some States Parties are progressively proceeding with the development of corrective measures and the definition of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) for some cultural properties in collaboration with the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS;

10. Urges again all parties associated with conflicts to ensure the protection of cultural and natural heritage, including to avoid their use for military purposes and also reiterates its utmost concern at the increase in illicit trafficking of cultural objects, resulting from armed conflicts, and appeals to all States Parties to cooperate in the fight against these threats, and for cultural heritage protection in general, including through the ratification of the 1970 Convention and the 1954 Convention and its two Protocols, as well as the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015) and 2347 (2017), and the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendations on Museums and Collections (2015);

11. Welcomes the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies’ continued actions in responding to emergencies and conflicts threatening cultural and natural heritage, including the Outstanding Universal Value, including through the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) and the Rapid Response Facility (RRF), UNESCO’s actions and emergency assistance programme and the First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage of ICCROM;

12. Reiterates its call upon the international community to further support the safeguarding of the cultural and natural heritage of countries affected by conflict, through earmarked funds or through contributions to the UNESCO World Heritage Fund, HEF and RRF;

Recovery and Reconstruction

13. Recalls that reconstruction is justifiable only in exceptional circumstances, and should be based on thorough documentation, guided by conservation plans and policies that support the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and as outlined in Paragraph 86 of the Operational Guidelines;

14. Takes note of the programmes initiated and implemented by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies and other international partners to respond to the destruction of heritage through documentation, emergency response, recovery and reconstruction;

15. Welcomes the continued efforts by States Parties in responding to post-conflict and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, as well as their positive social and community interlinkages and thanks UNESCO, the Advisory Bodies, and all the partners for their generous support of the initiatives and efforts;

16. Reiterates its previous encouragement to all State Parties to prepare comprehensive risk preparedness strategies and emergency response plans for World Heritage properties that are exposed to risk from natural disasters;

17. Reminds State Parties that Recovery Plans and on major reconstruction projects, which extend beyond emergency repair and stabilisation works should be subject to Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) prepared in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in the World Heritage Context and that detailed project documentation including HIAs should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

Development pressures and the need for management effectiveness

18. Notes with concern the continued and increasing pressures on World Heritage arising from a wide range of development pressures from small scale housing projects to large scale infrastructure development, including for transport and energy, urban development and expansion, mining and extraction, and the building of border barriers, to the development of tourism infrastructure within World Heritage properties or in their wider setting, resulting in significant potential and ascertained threats to the OUV of these properties;

19. Notes the importance of clearly established governance and legislation protecting the OUV of the property and that effective management systems for World Heritage properties must be integrated into urban, local and regional development plans and processes so that the coherent and coordinated protection of OUV is implemented by all levels of government;

20. Welcomes the launch of the UNESCO Urban Heritage Atlas digital tool that also supports the implementation of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape and encourages States Parties to implement the Atlas for managing World Heritage properties in urban contexts;

21. Invites States Parties to regularly evaluate their World Heritage management systems to ensure that management is effective, and to inform adaptive management approaches by utilizing the 2023 Enhancing Our Heritage Toolkit 2.0 to ensure that the OUV is conserved and management objectives are achieved;

22. Reminds States Parties that in order to effectively plan, manage and inform decision-making, that they ensure that the potential impacts of developments on the OUV are appropriately assessed, in line with Paragraph 3 above and that no developments proceed that would negatively impact the OUV;

23. Notes furthermore the support of sound information systems for effective management systems, such as the World Heritage Online Map Platform and the UNESCO Urban Heritage Atlas, as well as the importance of sharing management practices through the UNESCO World Heritage Canopy platform and the IUCN-ICCROM-ICOMOS Nature-Culture Community of PANORAMA and invites States Parties to continue to contribute to their information and practices;

24. Also welcomes the agreement signed between UNESCO, IUCN and the Kingdom of the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) to reinforce capacity building and quality assurance for Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for World Heritage properties;

Local Communities, Indigenous Peoples, and Human-Rights

25. Recalling Article 5 of the Convention that each State Party shall adopt for their territory a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community, and the integration of the protection of that heritage into comprehensive planning programmes as a means of ensuring effective protection, conservation and presentation of cultural and natural heritage;

26. Also recalling the obligations of States Parties to ensure that the management of their World Heritage properties should follow a human rights-based approach in line with international human rights standards and norms, including the expectations set out in the 2015 Policy on the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective in World Heritage Processes, and the UNESCO Policy on Engaging with Indigenous Peoples in order to ensure the full participation of all right-holders and stakeholders and in particular Indigenous peoples including through the provision of free, prior and informed consent on issues related to World Heritage properties that affect Indigenous Peoples;

27. Further recalling the provisions of the Operational Guidelines that call upon States Parties to adopt a human rights-based approach and to ensure the participation of local communities and/or Indigenous Peoples in the implementation of the Convention;

28. Acknowledges that historically for some World Heritage properties, OUV has been defined without the meaningful or sufficient participation of the Indigenous Peoples concerned and may not have taken into account their perspectives, including their relationship with the land and the interconnectedness of nature and culture and that this may have significant negative impacts on the rights, practices, traditions, livelihoods and heritage of concerned Indigenous Peoples;

29. Expresses its utmost concern and strongly condemns all forms of human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including forced evictions, and reiterates that such violations are unacceptable within the framework of the World Heritage Convention, urges the States Parties concerned to urgently investigate allegations where such violations have been reported, and calls upon States Parties to ensure equitable, inclusive and participatory governance mechanisms ensuring full respect of human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples, as an integral part of the management of World Heritage properties;

30. Takes note that an international expert workshop on ‘Recognising and Respecting Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Values in World Heritage Sites’ was organised by the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on World Heritage (IIPFWH) in January 2024 with the participation of the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre, and invites the IIPFWH to make available the outcome document at the earliest opportunity;

31. Also takes note that the 21st General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of ICOMOS addressed the question of human rights-based approach to heritage management;

Climate Change

32. Notes with concern the increasing impacts of Climate Change on cultural and natural World Heritage properties;

33. Welcomes the adoption of the Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage (Policy Document) by the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention at its 24th session (UNESCO, 2023), urges States Parties to implement it and encourages States Parties, the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and World Heritage-related Category 2 Centres to disseminate it widely through appropriate means;

34. Takes note of the initiatives taken by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to advance work to support implementation of the Policy Document, including on the development of a draft climate action for World Heritage toolkit and through the ongoing revision of the Resource Manual on Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage, as well as the upcoming activities for a Guidance Document and encourages States Parties to support these initiatives through extrabudgetary contributions;

35. Also takes note of the ICOMOS Climate Change Adaptation Guide, proposed online and the pro-active engagement with the threats posed by climate change to Indigenous heritage;

World Heritage contribution to Biodiversity Conventions

36. Reiterates its request to States Parties to fully harness the World Heritage Convention in supporting the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including through effective collaboration among convention focal points, and by integrating World Heritage-related objectives within their updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), to ensure synergies between World Heritage and other biodiversity-related Conventions, and that World Heritage properties fully benefit from international biodiversity financing such as the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund;

37. Thanks the States Parties of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Germany for their offer to support the expert meeting on World Heritage and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, with a view to elaborating specific guidance on how the World Heritage Convention could be better harnessed to contribute to the Global Biodiversity Framework and the aims of the Joint Programme of Work on the Links between Biological and Cultural Diversity, and requests that the outcomes and recommendations of the expert meeting be reported to the Committee at its 47th session;

38. Noting the growing concern over the impacts of avian influenza on wildlife in World Heritage properties, encourages management authorities to develop appropriate management strategies in line with international standards and good practice.