Seoul: The World Heritage Committee wrapped up its 48th session in Busan, Republic of Korea, with the addition of 25 new sites to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
At the close of its ten-day meeting, in which Qatar participated, the committee announced that the UNESCO World Heritage List now comprises 1,273 sites across 173 countries. The committee reviewed the conservation status of 148 properties and placed six on the List of World Heritage in Danger, including Lebanon’s ancient port city of Tyre and the historic inner city of Paramaribo in Suriname, citing threats to their integrity.
Delegates also discussed ways to boost representation for Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), a group of low-lying island nations that are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Following lengthy discussions, delegates voted to remove the Historic Centre of Vienna from the List of World Heritage in Danger after protracted debates over tensions between urban development and the protection of the city’s historic and cultural landscape.
Among the new inscriptions were the "Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan’s Ancient Capitals and Related Properties,” a collection of Asuka-period ruins in Japan, and the "Beaches of the D-Day Landings, Normandy, 1944” in northwestern France, which groups together the beaches where the Allied landings that helped turn the tide of World War II took place.
Republic of Korea secured an extension of the boundaries of its 2021-listed "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats” to include additional tidal flat areas on the western and southern coasts. Including the Korean tidal flats, two sites had their boundaries expanded during the session, and a separate case involved a change of criteria.
The next World Heritage Committee session is scheduled to take place in the Turkish capital Istanbul. Turkiye will also take the chair next year by custom, while Armenia, Grenada, Vietnam, Tanzania and Kuwait were elected as vice-chairs.
The 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee saw broad participation from States Parties to the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, along with experts and representatives from international heritage organizations.
The Committee reviews nominations for inscription on the World Heritage List, assesses the state of conservation of sites, and discusses policy issues related to the Convention.
