Decision 40 COM 7A.7

Tomb of the Askia (Mali) (C 1139)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 39 COM 7A.22, adopted at its 39th session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Regrets that the State Party was unable to submit a state of conservation report on the property, as requested by the Committee;
4. Expresses its concern regarding the unstable security situation at Gao preventing the State Party from inviting the requested joint UNESCO/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to evaluate the general state of conservation of the property;
5. Also expresses its concern that the property remains under threat as regards its architectural components and the conservation and management mechanism and requests the State Party to accelerate, together with support from its partners, the implementation of the project for the Rehabilitation of Cultural Heritage at Gao;
6. Notes with satisfaction the organization in Bamako of an evaluation meeting on the state of conservation of the property based on all the technical missions, studies and activity reports, and notes and comments of site managers and representatives of the local communities, enabling the establishment of corrective measures and the initial preparation of the Desired state of conservation for removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR);
7. Adopts the following corrective measures to ensure the conditions of integrity and authenticity of the property:
   1. For the conservation of the physical components of the property:
      1. Implement the restoration and rehabilitation work for the different components of the property to ensure their stability and consolidation,
      2. Establish and implement control measures relating to the silting up of the physical components of the property and carry out drainage and sand removal from the courtyards of the property;
      3. Safeguard and preserve the cultural and symbolic characteristics of the necropolis: 1) secure its stability with regard to the erosive action of rainwater, 2) correct the repair errors on the enclosure that affect its authenticity, 3) promote its integration into a coherent ensemble with the white stone square,
      4. Improve the amenities of the buildings, in this case, the men’s prayer rooms,
      5. Safeguard and preserve the architectural characteristics (typo-morphological) of the buffer zone,
   2. For the protection and management of the property:
      1. Revise and implement the Conservation and Management Plan for the property and the buffer zones, taking into account a risk management plan, threats to the outstanding universal value of the property and a timetable for the preventive and remedial conservation of the components of the property,
      2. Identify funding sources for the short-, medium- and long-term, to guarantee the implementation of this management plan,
      3. Prepare a conservation guide for the components of the property indicating the periodic evaluation mechanism for its state of conservation,
      4. Strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of the actors and professionals involved in the management and conservation of the property,
      5. Strengthen the operational capacities of the management structure of the property: allocation of a budget required for urgent conservation activities,
8. Calls upon the international community to support the State Party, in co-operation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, in any way possible for priority conservation and management measures, and capacity building programmes;
9. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint UNESCO/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to evaluate the general state of conservation of the property and progress accomplished in the implementation of the corrective measures, once the situation in northern Mali is stabilized;
10. Further requests the State Party to complete, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM, the proposed DSOCR and a clear timeframe for implementation, and to submit them to the World Heritage Centre, if possible, by 1 February 2017, for adoption by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
11. Requests furthermore that the State Party submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
12. Decides to continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism of the property;
13. Decides to retain Tomb of Askia (Mali) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.