Decision 42 COM 7B.39

National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers (Haiti) (C 180)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 7B.110, 35 COM 7B.125, 36 COM 99, 37 COM 98, 38 COM 7B.44 and 40 COM 7B.6 adopted respectively at its 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 35th (UNESCO, 2011), 36th (Saint Petersburg, 2012), 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 38th (Doha, 2014) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions,
3. Recalling also the numerous reports of the Advisory and Reactive Monitoring missions and their recommendations to the State Party on the conservation and management of the property;
4. Takes note of the realization of a sustainable tourism plan and the Development, Conservation and Safeguarding Plan of the National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci (HNP-CSSR) for the monumental part of the property;
5. Expresses, however, its deepest concern about the lack of significant progress in the implementation of the essential tools for good management and conservation of the property, such as the definition of the buffer zone, the finalization of the conservation and management plan and the establishment of a permanent management structure;
6. Notes with deep concern that the question of the deviation of Road RN003 is still not satisfactorily resolved and that the terms of reference for the study of Road RN003 seem to retain exclusively a crossing of the Park and not a bypass and;
   1. Reiterates Decision 34 COM 7B.110, that requested the State Party to "halt the construction of the RN003 within the limits of the property pending the development of other alternatives to be evaluated, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines";
   2. Requests the State Party to confirm that the future route of the RN003 will not pass through the property because it would seriously affect its integrity, and to inform the Committee as soon as possible if and when the necessary studies for a deviation will be made;
   3. Recalls Decision 40 COM 7B.6, that requests the State Party "to submit to the World Heritage Centre, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, the technical project for the improvement of the existing road within the Park, including its route, the engineering work for the canalization of the river, the type of asphalt and the width of the road, for review by the Advisory Bodies before any works are undertaken”;
   4. Notes that the terms of reference indicate the possibility of transforming the road located in the property, from the RN003 road to the Choiseul parking area, and requests the State Party to ensure that this route will not affect the OUV of the property;
7. Notes with concern that the delays in the finalization of these actions and tools could ultimately constitute a potential danger to the OUV of the property, in accordance with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Urges the State Party to provide by 1 February 2019 an electronic version of the management and conservation plan, as well as a proposal for the establishment of a buffer zone for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2019, 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 44th session in 2020.