Decision 43 COM 7B.105

Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (Ethiopia) (C 18)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 36 COM 7B.42, adopted at its 36th session (Saint Petersburg, 2012),
3. Commends the State Party for its commitment to address the concerns over the temporary shelters by inviting an Advisory mission in May 2018 to monitor progress on the conservation of the property and particularly to advise the State Party on the dismantling of the temporary shelters and several ongoing projects regarding the property;
4. Acknowledges the information provided by the State Party regarding the monitoring of the temporary shelters, notably the draft Roadmap for the conservation of the site submitted by the Ethiopian Construction Design and Supervision Works Corporation (ECDSWC) and the 2014 and 2018 reports of the shelters assessments;
5. Welcomes the close cooperation of the State Party with the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and bilateral teams including the French Government, and the efforts for fundraising;
6. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the reports of the restoration projects implemented at the Bete Gabriel-Rafael, Beta Golgotha and Mika’el churches, as well as the Terms of Reference of the forthcoming conservation projects on the churches, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
7. Also requests the State Party to proceed to the dismantling of the shelters, based on a framework programme that includes a structural analysis of the shelter construction, a roof repair and maintenance project of the churches, the allocation of adequate funds and resources, and a training and capacity-building programme;
8. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre the above mentioned framework programme before any work takes place, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
9. Urges the State Party to ensure the operationalization of the Advisory Committee, according to the Reserved Area regulation, to revise the 2014 Management Plan, and to submit it, along with the cadastre maps, and with a request for Minor Boundary Modification, including all management and planning provisions for the property;
10. Recommends that the control and planning of the urban growth, as well as the improvement of living conditions near the churches, be addressed, and, to that effect,
11. Requests furthermore the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, a Vision Statement on growth and development, in line with the 2015 Policy for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention, that reflects and respects the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property and serves as a guiding principle for the revised Structure Plan of Lalibela and a Local Development Plan for the property and its buffer zone, issued by the national and regional authorities, which should both be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
12. Requests moreover to the State Party to revise the Theological School Project so as to adequately address the interrelation between conservation and traditional and religious practices;
13. Encourages the State Party to conduct study and research on artefacts, wall paintings, architecture and archaeology of Lalibela in order to address matters such as the structural integrity of the churches;
14. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, 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 45th session in 2021.