World Heritage Committee
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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.
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]
Sessions
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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 city |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1977 | 27 June–1 July | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 2 | 1978 | 5 September–8 September | Template:Flagicon Washington, D.C. |
| 3 | 1979 | 22 October–26 October | Template:Flagicon Cairo & Luxor |
| 4 | 1980 | 1 September–5 September | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 5 | 1981 | 26 October–30 October | Template:Flagicon Sydney |
| 6 | 1982 | 13 December–17 December | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 7 | 1983 | 5 December–9 December | Template:Flagicon Florence |
| 8 | 1984 | 29 October–2 November | Template:Flagicon Buenos Aires |
| 9 | 1985 | 2 December–6 December | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 10 | 1986 | 24 November–28 November | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 11 | 1987 | 7 December–11 December | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 12 | 1988 | 5 December–9 December | Template:Flagicon Brasília |
| 13 | 1989 | 11 December–15 December | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 14 | 1990 | 7 December–12 December | Template:Flagicon Banff |
| 15 | 1991 | 9 December–13 December | Template:Flagicon Carthage |
| 16 | 1992 | 7 December–14 December | Template:Flagicon Santa Fe |
| 17 | 1993 | 6 December–11 December | Template:Flagicon Cartagena |
| 18 | 1994 | 12 December–17 December | Template:Flagicon Phuket |
| 19 | 1995 | 4 December–9 December | Template:Flagicon Berlin |
| 20 | 1996 | 2 December–7 December | Template:Flagicon Mérida |
| 21 | 1997 | 1 December–6 December | Template:Flagicon Naples |
| 22 | 1998 | 30 November–5 December | Template:Flagicon Kyoto |
| 23 | 1999 | 29 November–4 December | Template:Flagicon Marrakech |
| 24 | 2000 | 27 November–2 December | Template:Flagicon Cairns |
| 25 | 2001 | 11 December–16 December | Template:Flagicon Helsinki |
| 26 | 2002 | 24 June–29 June | Template:Flagicon Budapest |
| 27 | 2003 | 30 June–5 July | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 28 | 2004 | 28 June–7 July | Template:Flagicon Suzhou |
| 29 | 2005 | 10 July–17 July | Template:Flagicon Durban |
| 30 | 2006 | 8 July–16 July | Template:Flagicon Vilnius |
| 31 | 2007 | 23 June–1 July | Template:Flagicon Christchurch |
| 32 | 2008 | 2 July–10 July | Template:Flagicon Quebec City |
| 33 | 2009 | 22 June–30 June | Template:Flagicon Seville |
| 34 | 2010 | 25 July–3 August | Template:Flagicon Brasília |
| 35 | 2011 | 19 June–29 June | Template:Flagicon Paris |
| 36 | 2012 | 25 June–5 July | Template:Flagicon Saint Petersburg |
| 37 | 2013 | 17 June–27 June | Template:Flagicon Phnom Penh |
| 38 | 2014 | 15 June–25 June | Template:Flagicon Doha |
| 39 | 2015 | 28 June–8 July | Template:Flagicon Bonn |
| 40 | 2016 | 10 July–20 July | Template:Flagicon Istanbul |
| 41 | 2017 | 2 July–12 July | Template:Flagicon Kraków |
| 42 | 2018 | 24 June–4 July | Template:Flagicon Manama |
| 43 | 2019 | 30 June–10 July | Template:Flagicon Baku |
| 44 | 2020–21 | 16 July–31 July 2021 Originally scheduled for 2020. Postponed to an extended 2021 session due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] |
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| 45 | 2022–23 | 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] |
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| 46 | 2024 | 21 July–31 July | Template:Flagicon New Delhi |
| 47 | 2025 | 6 July–16 July | Template:Flagicon Paris |
Bureau
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:
| Member state[11] | Mandate |
|---|---|
| File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of India.svg India | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Rwanda.svg Rwanda | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2021–2025 |
| File:Flag of Senegal.svg Senegal | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam | 2023–2027 |
| File:Flag of Zambia.svg Zambia | 2021–2025 |
| Total | 21 |
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Criticism
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]
The committee has also been criticized with alleged racism, colorism, and geographic bias for favoring the inscription of sites in Western and industrialized countries over sites belonging to so-called "third-world" countries. A large proportion of the world heritage sites are located in Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America, where populations notably have lighter skin.[16][17][18][19]
See also
- Lists of World Heritage Sites
- Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention
References
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- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ According to the UNESCO World Heritage website, States Parties Template:Webarchive are countries that signed and ratified The World Heritage Convention Template:Webarchive. As of March 2013, there were a total of 170 State Parties.
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ 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 Template:Webarchive. 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/ Template:Webarchive (27 June 2019)
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- ↑ Eliot, et al (2012). World heritage: Constructing a universal cultural order. Poetics Journal.
- ↑ Djurberg, et al (2018). Reforming UNESCO's World Heritage. The Globalist.
- ↑ Keough (2011). Heritage in Peril: A Critique of UNESCO's World Heritage Program. Global Studies Law Review.
- ↑ Steiner, et al (2011). Imbalance of World Heritage List: "Did the UNESCO Strategy Work?". University of Zurich.
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External links
- UNESCO World Heritage portal – official website Template:In lang
- The World Heritage List – official searchable list of all Inscribed Properties