48. The Bureau took note of document CLT-92/CONF.003/02 and commended the efforts of the Director-General of UNESCO for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Dubrovnik, particularly:
- his joint appeal together with the United Nations Secretary General for a return to peace and the protection of cultural heritage;
- his appeal to the various UNESCO missions to the different parties involved in the conflict with the aim of enforcing the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 1954) and the World Heritage Convention;
- the despatch of UNESCO observers to Dubrovnik in December 1991 followed, as of February 1992, by technical missions;
- his decision to allocate a special amount of US$200,000 for preliminary operations for urgent restoration of monuments, and
- the preparation, with the competent authorities, of a plan of action for the restoration of the damaged monuments.
Thanks to an emergency assistance of US$19,000 from the World Heritage Fund, an international expert meeting has already been organized in Dubrovnik and technical training programmes for Croation specialists are foreseen in France.
The Bureau expressed its concern regarding the resumption of hostilities in the region where no military targets justifying armed intervention are located. It requested the World Heritage Centre to advise the Croatian authorities to create, before the next session of the World Heritage Committee, a buffer zone which would ensure the protection of the ancient fortress and other monuments.
The Bureau was informed that the plan of action mentioned above will be made public and available to funding agencies. In this respect, the Bureau was informed that a tourist agency in the United States of America and another one in Dubrovnik have shown interest in the safeguarding operations and proposed to collect funds to this end.
The Bureau made an appeal to the parties in conflict for a suspension of hostilities and the protection of cultural heritage. It invited all States Parties to the Convention to participate in the conservation of the site.
49. The Bureau took note of the information provided by the Secretariat and decided to set aside a sum of US$30,0000 for urgent activities to be undertaken for the restoration of Dubrovnik.