Online Meeting: World Heritage in Danger in the Arab States Region Processes and Actions
On 23 November 2020, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), in cooperation with the Arab Regional Centre for World (ARC-WH), organized an online meeting on the World Heritage in Danger in the Arab States Region, Processes and Actions.
Participants from the Arab States Parties including Focal Points and site managers, as well as representatives from WHC, ARC-WH, ICOMOS and UNESCO field offices, met online to discuss the mechanisms, functions and procedures of the List of World Heritage in Danger, as well as the main outcomes of the Third Cycle of the Periodic Reporting for the Arab Region concerning properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The main objectives of the meeting were to provide participants with a clear overview of the functionality and procedures of the List of World Heritage in Danger to respond effectively to threats and factors facing endangered properties, as well as the planning and preparation of the Desired of States Of Conservation for the Removal of properties from the World Heritage List in Danger (DSCOR) document, as well as the corresponding Corrective Measures. Additionally, discussions also addressed the main outcomes of the Periodic Reporting process in the Arab States in relation to sites inscribed on the Danger List.
The meeting also highlighted the successful removal of the site of the Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine), from the Danger List in 2019, as well as the lessons learned from this experience, together with other examples. These insights and experiences shared are vital towards supporting the understanding of the processes of the List of World Heritage in Danger in the Arab region, as well as its uses and functions.
The Danger List is often perceived in a negative context, however, as pointed out during the meeting, the World Heritage List in Danger functions as a protective mechanism that prioritizes and offers additional technical and financial assistance for the eventual mitigation and removal of major threats and factors that face properties Outstanding Universal Values.
Old City of Sana’a
©Selma Kasssem
