Decision 45 COM 7B.178

Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace (Azerbaijan) (C 1549rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.153 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Welcomes the progress made to strengthen protection and conservation of the overall historic urban landscape of the property, particularly the planned productive ‘garden city’, the distinctive local architectural traditions and the forested setting of the property;
4. Notes the updated Urban Regeneration Plan, the new liaison with the Forestry Service to improve monitoring, the ongoing monitoring of development projects by the Yukhari- Bash Reserve Office, and the proposed improvements to the Restoration and Infill Manuals;
5. Also notes that the State Party acknowledges the current weaknesses related to the absence of a detailed inventory of the elements of the historic urban landscape that need to be monitored, and the limited power of the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office over a sizeable part of the property (approximately 75%) that is privately owned, as owners do not have to obtain authorization for alterations to either their buildings or garden areas, and expresses concern over that green garden areas are being built upon which, as the State Party acknowledges, poses a threat to Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
6. Also welcomes the commencement of an inventorying process for the attributes of the OUV and the development of a GIS database to encompass urban form, building types, traditional buildings materials, architectural details and gardens;
7. Further welcomes the initiation of the process of designating the property as a Special Protection Regime of the Yukhari-Bash State Historical and Architectural Reserve, which will define rules and regulations for each of the attributes of the property’s OUV based on detailed inventories, and formally recognise the Restoration and Infill Manuals;
8. Further notes the proposed timeframe for the completion of the inventories, and rules and regulation necessary for the finalisation of the Special Protection Regime and its intended approval by the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 2023, but considers that this timeframe is too tight to allow these to be defined in ways that ensure that the measures are as effective as possible, and requests the State Party to consider extending this timeframe;
9. Recommends that the State Party submit drafts of the inventory and of the rules and regulations for the proposed Special Protection Regime to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, in advance of either being finalized;
10. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.