The World Heritage Committee:
1. Recalling the high-level UNESCO mission to the State Party of Mali that was sent in May 2012 at the decision of the Director-General of UNESCO, in response to the disastrous occupation of the cultural property of the Timbuktu shrines by armed groups, and met with the senior government officials, including the Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture in order to offer support to the people of Mali,
2. Further recalling that during the UNESCO high-level mission, both the Government of Mali and UNESCO agreed to reinforce the protection of all cultural properties which are fundamental for the preservation of the Malian culture, described by the Government as both “rich and tolerant, and forming an integral part of the heritage of humanity”,
3. Welcoming the declaration of the Secretary General of the United Nations of 1 July 2012 supporting the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the countries of the region to assist the people of Mali to resolve the crisis,
4. Noting with great sadness the destruction of the mausoleums which are part of the World Heritage property of Timbuktu,
5. Expresses its gratitude to the international community for the manifestations of concern and for the appeals for the cessation of these repugnant acts of destruction;
6. Strongly condemns these acts of destruction and calls upon the perpetrators responsible to immediately halt these unacceptable actions;
7. Rejects any correlation between the recent inscription of the property of the Timbuktu shrines on the List of World Heritage in Danger and the acts of vandalism that are being perpetrated, which deprive the world and future generations from enjoying Mali’s precious heritage;
8. Calls upon the international community, to provide the support required at the request of the State Party of Mali in ensuring that its cultural properties are conserved and protected for present and future generations;
9. Requests the Director-General of UNESCO to consider the creation of a Special Fund to assist Mali in its efforts to support the conservation of its cultural heritage, and to this end, appeals to all Member States of UNESCO, to the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to provide financial resources to this Fund;
10. Further requests the Director-General of UNESCO to dispatch a mission to Mali when possible, with a view to assessing, together with the national authorities concerned and the local authorities, the extent of the damage to and destruction of the property and the urgent conservation needs in order to safeguard its integrity and its Outstanding Universal Value;
11. Decides to apply the Reinforced monitoring mechanism to the property and to report back to the World Heritage Committee;
12. Decides that a report on progress made in that context be submitted to the World Heritage Committee at its 37th session for consideration and follow-up action