World Heritage 37 COM

265 Pages·2013·1.25 MB·English

by  World Heritage Center

World Heritage 37 COM
WHC-13/37.COM.INF.20
Original: English/French
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF
THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE

WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE
Thirty-seventh session
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
16 -27 June 2013

SUMMARY RECORD

RESUME DES INTERVENTIONS

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Table of content

1. Opening of the session
2. Requests for Observer status.
3A. Provisional Agenda of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee
(Phnom Penh, 2013).
3B. Provisional Timetable of the 37th session of the World Heritage
Committee (Phnom Penh, 2013).
4. Report of the Rapporteur
5A. Report of the World Heritage Centre on its activities and the
implementation of the World Heritage Committee’s Decisions.
5B. Reports of the Advisory Bodies.
5C. Summary and Follow-up of the Director General’s meeting on “The
World Heritage Convention: Thinking Ahead” (UNESCO HQs, 2-3
October 2012).
5D. Revised PACT Initiative Strategy.
5E. Report on the 40th anniversary celebrations.
6. Follow-up to the World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy and
Progress report on the World Heritage related category 2 centres.
7A. State of conservation reports of properties inscribed on the List of
World Heritage in Danger.
7B. State of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.
7C. Reflection on the trends of the state of conservation.
8A. Tentative Lists submitted by States Parties as of 15 April 2013, in
conformity with the Operational Guidelines.
8B. Nominations to the World Heritage List.
8C. Update of the List of World Heritage in Danger.
8D. Clarifications of property boundaries and areas by States Parties in
response to the Retrospective Inventory.
9. Progress report on the upstream processes.
10A. Final Report on the results of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting
Exercise for Latin American and the Caribbean.
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10B. Progress report on the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise
for Europe and North America.
10C. Progress report on Periodic Reporting in all other regions.
11. Revision of the Rules of Procedure.
12. Revision of the Operational Guidelines.
13. Draft Policy Guidelines.
14. Examination of International Assistance requests.
15. Report on the execution of the 2012-2013 Budget and preparation of the
2014-2015 Budget.
16. Other business.
17. Election of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons and Rapporteur of the
38th session of the World Heritage Committee (2014).
18A. Provisional Agenda of the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee
(2014).
18B. Feasibility study on an additional ordinary session of the World Heritage
Committee.
19. Provisional Agenda of the 19th session of the General Assembly of
States Parties to the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO, 2013).
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SUNDAY, 16 JUNE 2013
OPENING OF THE SESSION
7 p.m – 8 p.m
Chairperson : H. E. Dr. SOK AN (Cambodia)

ITEM 1 OPENING OF THE SESSION
Document: WHC-13/37.COM/INF.2
An Opening Ceremony of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee was
organized at the Peace Palace on Sunday 16 June 2013 in Phnom Penh, Kingdom
of Cambodia.
The 21 Members of the World Heritage Committee were present:
Algeria, Cambodia, Colombia, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Iraq,
Japan, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Qatar, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia, South
Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates.

The following 102 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, which are not
members of the Committee, were represented as Observers: Angola, Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia
(Plurinational State of), Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia,
Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy
See, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ,
Korea, Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic,
Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mongolia,
Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Norway,
Oman, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian
Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa,
Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania,
United Republic of , Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezuela (Bolivarian
Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Representatives of the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee, namely the
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural
Property (ICCROM), the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) also attended the session.

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Speeches were delivered by the following dignitaries:

• H.E. Dr. Sok An, Deputy-Prime Minister and Chairperson of the World
Heritage Committee
• Mrs Emily K. Rafferty, President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New
York City
• Mrs Katalin Bogay, President of the UNESCO General Conference
• Mrs Alissandra Cummins, Chairperson of the UNESCO Executive Board
• Mrs Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
• H. E. Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia

All the interventions are annexed to the present Document.

The opening ceremony was marked by the restitution of two important Khmer statues
of Pandava by the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New-York to the Kingdom of
Cambodia in presence of the President of the Metropolitan Museum of New-York
Madame Emily K. Rafferty and representatives of the American authorities.

A cultural performance and a reception followed.

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FIRST DAY – Monday, 17 June 2013
FIRST MEETING
9.00 a.m. –12.30 p.m.
Chairperson : H. E. Dr. SOK AN (Cambodia) and Mr. Francisco J.Gutierrez
(Colombia)

ITEM 2 ADMISSION OF OBSERVERS

Document: WHC-13/37.COM.2
WHC-13/37.COM.INF.2
Decision: 37 COM 2

The Chairperson, before presenting Item 2 of the agenda, announced that the
session would be live streamed, as per Decision 35 COM 12 B and that the meeting
would also be open to accredited journalists. The Chairperson thanked Qatar, Spain
and the Russian Federation for the financial support provided for Arabic, Spanish and
Russian interpretation. He pointed out that Arabic, Spanish and Russian speaking
Delegations should express in their first intervention in which language (English or
French) they would wish to be recorded.

The Draft Decision 37 COM 2 was adopted.

The Chairperson closed Item 2 of the Agenda.

ITEM 3 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AND TIMETABLE
3A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
3B. ADOPTION OF THE TIMETABLE

Document: WHC-13/37.COM/3A
WHC-13/37.COM/INF.3A.Rev.2
WHC-13/37.COM/3B.Rev
Decisions: 37 COM 3A
37 COM 3B

The Chairperson gave the floor to the Director of the World Heritage Centre to
introduce documents 3A and 3B.Rev and mentioned that these documents should
be read in conjunction with Document INF.3A.Rev.2, which is the Provisional list of
documents of the session.

The Director of the World Heritage Centre presented the items 3A and 3B, as well
as the relevant documents. He announced that the Bureau meeting would start the
very next morning at 8.30 am; that the discussion on the State of Conservation
(SOC) reports was foreseen until 20 June and that the discussion on nominations
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would follow from 21 to 23 June. He indicated that no evening sessions were
foreseen for this session.

The Chairperson announced that in accordance with Rule 22 of the Rules of
Procedure, the time limit for interventions of Committee members would be 3 minutes
and for observers 2 minutes. He asked the Committee Members to hand in their
amendments to Draft Decisions in writing to the Secretariat.

The Draft Decisions 37 COM 3A and 37 COM 3B were adopted.

The Chairperson closed Item 3 of the Agenda.

ITEM 4 REPORT OF THE RAPPORTEUR OF THE 36th SESSION OF THE
WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE (ST PETERSBURG, 2012)
Mrs Beatriz Hernández Narváez, Rapporteur of the 36th session of the World
Heritage Committee, apologized for not being able to deliver personally her report.
She indicated that she was not in a position to attend the 37th session of the
Committee and that therefore she had to record her presentation.

She thanked all her colleagues and members of the Committee for having entrusted
her with the great responsibility of being Rapporteur during the 36th session of the
Committee in Saint Petersburg. She also paid tribute to the Chairperson of the 36th
session, Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova, for her relentless work and ability to
conduct the discussions of the Committee.

She underlined that, in addition the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee
who were present in Saint Petersburg; 97 States Parties to the World Heritage
Convention, were represented as Observers, showing the great importance given to
the 1972 Convention, one of the most universally ratified legal instruments which now
accounts with 190 States Parties.

Ms Hernández Narváez indicated that, for the first time and as per the decision
adopted by the General Assembly, the proceedings of the 36th session World
Heritage Committee were made available through live streaming on the Internet, as
per, enabling the stakeholders of the Convention to follow the debates and making
the process more transparent.

She also indicated that two fora were held in conjunction with the 36th session: the
Youth Model of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Kazan, capital of the
Republic of Tatarstan and the International Forum “NGOs in Support of the World
Heritage Properties”.

Ms Hernández Narváez mentioned that the 36th session witnessed numerous threats
to World Heritage; notably the damages caused to the World Heritage sites in Mali.
She underlined that the Committee strongly condemned these acts of destruction
and decided to inscribe the sites of Mali in the List in danger and called upon the
Director-General of UNESCO to create a special fund to help Mali in the conservation
and restoration of its cultural heritage. She also recalled also that the Committee
launched an appeal to the international community for the protection of this heritage.

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She noted that these tragic events gave a wider dimension of the current and future
challenges facing the 1972 Convention, particularly in terms of strengthening
protection, conservation and rehabilitation of the heritage of humanity.

Ms Hernández Narváez recalled that the 36th session dealt with a very heavy
agenda and that, to optimize its work, and following a previous practice, the
Committee established two subsidiary bodies devoted to the Operational Guidelines,
and to the Budget matters, the latter having raised concerns on the sustainability of
the World Heritage Fund.

As to the state of the World Heritage List, the Committee inscribed 26 properties, 5
natural, 1 mixed and 20 cultural. With these inscriptions, the List now totals 962
properties located in 157 States Parties. She recalled that five properties were added
to the List of World Heritage in Danger and that the Committee also examined 141
state of conservation reports, including 35 properties on the List of World Heritage in
Danger. In total, the Committee adopted 241 decisions.

Ms Hernández Narváez indicated that all this work would not have been possible
without the professional assistance of the Secretariat. She finally made a special
mention to the Advisory Bodies, members of the Committee, Member States,
observers, NGOs and all those who contributed to the success of the 36th session.

She ended her presentation by congratulating her successor, Mrs. Jasna ZRNOVIC
(Serbia) who accepted to take the role of Rapporteur for the 37th session.

The Chairperson thanked the Rapporteur on behalf of all Committee members and
closed item 4 of the Agenda.

ITEM 12 REVISION OF THE OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES [CONSTITUTION OF
CONSULTATIVE BODY]

Le Président rappelle que, en conformité avec la Décision 35 COM 13 point 8, le
Comité a décidé “de créer un groupe de travail ouvert sur les Orientations à la 36e
session du Comité du patrimoine mondial en 2012”. Il souligne également qu’un tel
groupe de travail avait déjà été établi par le Comité à sa 34ème session.

Il précise que ce groupe de travail pourrait être établi en tant qu’Organe consultatif,
conformément à l’Article 20 du Règlement intérieur, ouvert à la participation des tous
les Etats parties qui le souhaitent, y compris les Etats non membres du Comité ; ce
groupe de travail sera établi pour la durée de la 37eme session et fera rapport au
Comité lors de sa séance plénière. Il rappelle que les groupes de travail sont
responsables, après consultations, de l’élection de leur Président.

A la suite des différentes propositions émanent de la salle, il a été décidé que des
discussions seraient menées au sein du groupe de travail concernant les
Orientations et que la Plénière en serait informée.

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ITEM 15 REPORT ON THE EXECUTION OF THE 2012-2013 BUDGET AND
PREPARATION OF THE 2014-2015 BUDGET [CONSTITUTION OF
CONSULTATIVE BODY]

Le Président rappelle que le Comité a établi par sa décision 35 COM 12B,
paragraphe 13 un organe consultatif permanent pour l'examen du budget biennal du
Comité, en conformité avec l’Article 20 du Règlement intérieur, ouvert à la
participation des tous les Etats parties qui le souhaitent, y compris les Etats non
membres du Comité. A l’instar du groupe de travail sur les Orientations, celui-ci sera
établi pour la durée de la 37eme session et fera rapport au Comité lors de sa séance
plénière. Il rappelle que les groupes de travail sont responsables, après
consultations, de l’élection de leur Président. Il a été décidé que des discussions
seraient menées au sein du groupe de travail concernant les Orientations et que la
Plénière en serait informée.

ITEM 5 REPORTS OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE AND THE
ADVISORY BODIES
5A . REPORT OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE ON ITS ACTIVITIES AND
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE DECISIONS

Documents: WHC-13/37.COM/5A
Decisions: 37 COM 5A

The Director of the World Heritage Centre introduced the report of the World
Heritage Centre in highlighting some activities: the report of the Decisions on the 36th
session was released within one month after the session, an informal orientation
session for Committee Members was organized on 31 January 2013 at the request of
Committee Members which concentrated on rules and procedures. Furthermore, he
recalled that a meeting of the Open-ended Working group on PACT was also held on
31 January 2013.

As usual, an information session on the 37th session of the Committee was organized
after the first dispatch of document on 6 May 2013.

The Director of the Centre informed that Tentative lists from 172 States Parties were
received and that, for the 37th session of the Committee, 36 nominations were
received but 6 withdrawn. He underlined the cooperation with other Conventions in
the framework of safeguarding of heritage but also other collaboration with eg the
Biodiversity Liaison Group, SITES, the Council of Europe, the RAMSAR convention.
He stressed that a Culture Convention Liaison Group and a common logistic unit
were established to enhance the coordination between the Culture Conventions of
UNESCO. In this framework, various thematic working groups analysed common
processes and capacity building efforts.

The Director of the Centre informed that the World Heritage Centre moderated the e-
discussion on the One UN Platform in preparation of the ECOSOC meeting in 2013
on the contribution of culture and natural heritage to sustainable development. He
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underlined that UNESCO has launched advocacy efforts to include culture as a
vector in the post 2015 agenda.

He informed about the holding of several meetings, international encounter as well as
activities related to World Heritage such as the Hangzhou International Congress
"Culture: Key to Sustainable Development" (China), a chapter on disaster risk
preparedness concerning World Heritage sites on the Post Disaster Manual of the
World Bank and EU, a conference on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change in
Copenhagen (Denmark) an expert meeting on visual impacts on integrity of WH sites
in Agra (India).

The Director of the Centre highlighted that a large number of activities regarding the
40th anniversary of the Convention was coordinated by the Centre with the generous
support of States Parties. Finally, the Director of the Centre appealed to the
Committee to take into account the budgetary and staff constraints while adopting
decisions.

The Draft Decision 37 COM 5A was adopted.

5B. REPORTS OF THE ADVISORY BODIES

Documents: WHC-13/37.COM/5B
Decision: 37 COM 5B

IUCN highlighted the importance that it accords to the World Heritage. It informed
that the past Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Mr Zhang Xinsheng had
been elected President of the IUCN. IUCN saw its contribution to be credible and
relevant to the challenges facing conservation in the 21th century by upholding the
standards of quality within World Heritage sites. Relevance would not be secured by
high standards of protection and maintaining rigor in listing but by showing how
protection and conservation of sites deliver solutions to the complex development
needs of a modern society while retaining our precious heritage.

IUCN underlined its commitment to the upstream process for nominations and more
proactive monitoring of sites. IUCN mentioned the Asia Parks Congress organized
together with the government of Japan, the World Park Congress on inspiring
solutions. Benefits to the World Heritage should reach all regions of the globe. IUCN
provided advice and support.

ICOMOS indicated that it had endeavoured to use the totality of the resources to
provide the Committee with the most professional advice on new nominations as well
as all other issues concerning the conservation and protection of sites. ICOMOS
used the expertise of all regions and areas.

ICOMOS underlined the drain of resources and thanked Switzerland, Bahrain and
Japan for their generosity and exploration of the deeper meanings of the NARA
document. Finally, it reiterated its commitment to work in open cooperation with
States Parties. ICOMOS and IUCN believed that new mechanism were needed to
better operationalize upstream approaches and to build capacities to face together
the many challenges of inscribing and protecting properties in the World Heritage list.
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