The World Heritage Committee is a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.[1] It comprises representatives from 21 state parties[2][1] that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term.[3] These parties vote on decisions and proposals related to the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage List.
According to the World Heritage Convention, a committee member's term of office is six years. However many States Parties choose to voluntarily limit their term to four years, in order to give other States Parties an opportunity to serve.[3] All members elected at the 15th General Assembly (2005) voluntarily chose to reduce their term of office from six to four years.[3]
Deliberations of the World Heritage Committee are aided by three advisory bodies, the IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM.[4][5]
The World Heritage Committee meets once a year for an ordinary session to discuss the management of existing World Heritage Sites, and accept nominations by countries.[3] Extraordinary meetings can be convened at the request of two-thirds of the state members.[6] Meetings are held within the territory of state members of the World Heritage Committee at their invitation. Rotation between regions and cultures is a consideration for selection and the location for the next session is chosen by the committee at the end of each session.[6]
10 September–25 September 2023 Originally scheduled for 19 June–30 June 2022 in Kazan, Russia. Postponed to an extended 2023 session due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9][10]
At the end of each ordinary session, the committee elects a chairperson, five vice-chairpersons and a Rapporteur from those members whose term will continue through the next session.[6] These are known as the Bureau, and their representatives are responsible for coordinating the work of the World Heritage Committee, including fixing dates, hours and the order of business meetings.[1]
Voting
Each state member of the World Heritage Committee has one vote. Decisions require a simple majority with abstentions counted as not voting. Votes are delivered by a show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by either the chairperson or two or more states members.[6]
Members
Current members of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
Increasing politicization of World Heritage Committee decisions to the detriment of conservation aims has been alleged, particularly with regard to new nominations for the World Heritage List, but also with the consideration of sites for the List of World Heritage in Danger.[12][13] In 2010, states parties including Hungary, Switzerland and Zimbabwe submitted an official protest against such politicization.[5]
An external audit requested by the World Heritage Committee for its Global Strategy of the World Heritage List concluded in 2011 that political considerations were indeed influencing decisions.[5] It observed that the composition of committee representatives had shifted from experts to diplomats in spite of World Heritage Convention Article 9 and found that opinions from advisory bodies often diverged from World Heritage Committee decisions.[5]
In 2016, Israel recalled its UNESCO ambassador after the World Heritage Committee adopted a resolution in a secret ballot that referred to one of Jerusalem's holiest sites, the Temple Mount, only as a "Muslim holy site of worship", not mentioning that Jews and Christians venerate the site.[14][15]
^ abcUNESCO. "The World Heritage Committee". UNESCO. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
^According to the UNESCO World Heritage website, States Parties are countries that signed and ratified The World Heritage Convention. As of March 2013, there were a total of 170 State Parties.
^ abcd"The World Heritage Committee". UNESCO World Heritage Site. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
^UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Advisory Bodies". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
^ abcdOffice of the External Auditor for the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (2011) Independent Evaluation by the UNESCO External Auditor, Volume 1: Implementation of the Global Strategy for the Credible, Balanced and Representative World Heritage List. UNESCO Headquarters, Paris.
^ abcdUNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage (2015) Rules of Procedure. World Heritage Centre, Paris. Download available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/committee/ (27 June 2019)
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The World Heritage Committee is a committee of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization that selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties 1 It comprises representatives from 21 state parties 2 1 that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four year term 3 These parties vote on decisions and proposals related to the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage List Logo of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee According to the World Heritage Convention a committee member s term of office is six years However many States Parties choose to voluntarily limit their term to four years in order to give other States Parties an opportunity to serve 3 All members elected at the 15th General Assembly 2005 voluntarily chose to reduce their term of office from six to four years 3 Deliberations of the World Heritage Committee are aided by three advisory bodies the IUCN ICOMOS and ICCROM 4 5 Contents 1 Sessions 2 Bureau 3 Voting 4 Members 5 Criticism 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksSessions EditSee also List of World Heritage Sites by year of inscription The World Heritage Committee meets once a year for an ordinary session to discuss the management of existing World Heritage Sites and accept nominations by countries 3 Extraordinary meetings can be convened at the request of two thirds of the state members 6 Meetings are held within the territory of state members of the World Heritage Committee at their invitation Rotation between regions and cultures is a consideration for selection and the location for the next session is chosen by the committee at the end of each session 6 Session 7 Year Date Host city1 1977 27 June 1 July Paris2 1978 5 September 8 September Washington D C 3 1979 22 October 26 October Cairo amp Luxor4 1980 1 September 5 September Paris5 1981 26 October 30 October Sydney6 1982 13 December 17 December Paris7 1983 5 December 9 December Florence8 1984 29 October 2 November Buenos Aires9 1985 2 December 6 December Paris10 1986 24 November 28 November Paris11 1987 7 December 11 December Paris12 1988 5 December 9 December Brasilia13 1989 11 December 15 December Paris14 1990 7 December 12 December Banff15 1991 9 December 13 December Carthage16 1992 7 December 14 December Santa Fe17 1993 6 December 11 December Cartagena18 1994 12 December 17 December Phuket19 1995 4 December 9 December Berlin20 1996 2 December 7 December Merida21 1997 1 December 6 December Naples22 1998 30 November 5 December Kyoto23 1999 29 November 4 December Marrakech24 2000 27 November 2 December Cairns25 2001 11 December 16 December Helsinki26 2002 24 June 29 June Budapest27 2003 30 June 5 July Paris28 2004 28 June 7 July Suzhou29 2005 10 July 17 July Durban30 2006 8 July 16 July Vilnius31 2007 23 June 1 July Christchurch32 2008 2 July 10 July Quebec City33 2009 22 June 30 June Seville34 2010 25 July 3 August Brasilia35 2011 19 June 29 June Paris36 2012 25 June 5 July Saint Petersburg37 2013 17 June 27 June Phnom Penh38 2014 15 June 25 June Doha39 2015 28 June 8 July Bonn40 2016 10 July 20 July Istanbul41 2017 2 July 12 July Krakow42 2018 24 June 4 July Manama43 2019 30 June 10 July Baku44 2020 21 16 July 31 July 2021Originally scheduled for 2020 Postponed to an extended 2021 session due to the COVID 19 pandemic 8 Fuzhou45 2022 23 10 September 25 September 2023Originally scheduled for 19 June 30 June 2022 in Kazan Russia Postponed to an extended 2023 session due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine 9 10 RiyadhBureau EditAt the end of each ordinary session the committee elects a chairperson five vice chairpersons and a Rapporteur from those members whose term will continue through the next session 6 These are known as the Bureau and their representatives are responsible for coordinating the work of the World Heritage Committee including fixing dates hours and the order of business meetings 1 Voting EditEach state member of the World Heritage Committee has one vote Decisions require a simple majority with abstentions counted as not voting Votes are delivered by a show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by either the chairperson or two or more states members 6 Members EditCurrent members of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee Member state 11 Mandate Argentina 2021 2025 Belgium 2021 2025 Bulgaria 2017 2021 Egypt 2019 2023 Ethiopia 2019 2023 Greece 2021 2025 India 2021 2025 Italy 2021 2025 Japan 2021 2025 Mali 2019 2023 Mexico 2021 2025 Nigeria 2019 2023 Oman 2019 2023 Russia 2019 2023 Rwanda 2021 2025 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2017 2021 Saudi Arabia 2019 2023 South Africa 2019 2023 Thailand 2019 2023 Qatar 2021 2025 Zambia 2021 2025Total 21Criticism EditIncreasing politicization of World Heritage Committee decisions to the detriment of conservation aims has been alleged particularly with regard to new nominations for the World Heritage List but also with the consideration of sites for the List of World Heritage in Danger 12 13 In 2010 states parties including Hungary Switzerland and Zimbabwe submitted an official protest against such politicization 5 An external audit requested by the World Heritage Committee for its Global Strategy of the World Heritage List concluded in 2011 that political considerations were indeed influencing decisions 5 It observed that the composition of committee representatives had shifted from experts to diplomats in spite of World Heritage Convention Article 9 and found that opinions from advisory bodies often diverged from World Heritage Committee decisions 5 In 2016 Israel recalled its UNESCO ambassador after the World Heritage Committee adopted a resolution in a secret ballot that referred to one of Jerusalem s holiest sites the Temple Mount only as a Muslim holy site of worship not mentioning that Jews and Christians venerate the site 14 15 See also EditLists of World Heritage SitesReferences Edit a b c UNESCO The World Heritage Committee UNESCO Retrieved 27 June 2019 According to the UNESCO World Heritage website States Parties are countries that signed and ratified The World Heritage Convention As of March 2013 there were a total of 170 State Parties a b c d The World Heritage Committee UNESCO World Heritage Site Retrieved 2006 10 14 UNESCO World Heritage Centre Advisory Bodies UNESCO World Heritage Centre Retrieved 27 June 2019 a b c d Office of the External Auditor for the United Nations Scientific Educational and Cultural Organization 2011 Independent Evaluation by the UNESCO External Auditor Volume 1 Implementation of the Global Strategy for the Credible Balanced and Representative World Heritage List UNESCO Headquarters Paris a b c d UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage 2015 Rules of Procedure World Heritage Centre Paris Download available at https whc unesco org en committee 27 June 2019 Sessions UNESCO World Heritage Site UNESCO 16 July 2021 Extended 44th World Heritage Committee session opens in Fuzhou China UNESCO Retrieved 23 July 2021 UNESCO indefinitely postpones planned world heritage meeting in Russia The Art Newspaper 22 April 2022 Retrieved 24 April 2022 Saudi Arabia to host UNESCO s World Heritage Committee meetings in September Saudi Gazette 2023 01 24 Retrieved 2023 01 25 Centre UNESCO World Heritage UNESCO World Heritage Centre 40th session of the Committee whc unesco org Retrieved 27 March 2018 Meskell Lynn Winter 2014 States of Conservation Protection Politics and Pacting within UNESCO s World Heritage Committee Anthropological Quarterly 87 217 243 doi 10 1353 anq 2014 0009 S2CID 143628800 The Economist 2010 UNESCO s World Heritage Sites A Danger List in Danger Accessed 27 June 2019 U S to Withdraw From UNESCO Here s What That Means Nationalgeographic com 2017 10 12 Retrieved 2020 03 21 Tress Luke 2016 10 26 UNESCO adopts another resolution ignoring Jewish link to Temple Mount The Times of Israel Retrieved 2020 03 21 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Heritage Committee UNESCO World Heritage portal official website in English and French The World Heritage List official searchable list of all Inscribed PropertiesPortals Environment Society Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title World Heritage Committee amp oldid 1150972384, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
