Decision 45 COM 7B.136

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (Egypt) (C 87)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.126 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Commends the State Party on the progress made in relation to compliance with the requirements and processes of the World Heritage Convention and Operational Guidelines, including its decision to require Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) to be prepared for all projects at the property, and requests that HIAs should be completed in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, and reiterates its previous request that HIAs and relevant project documentation should be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse;
4. Welcomes the instigation of an Integrated Management Plan for the property, notes its previous request that this Plan should address risk preparedness and sustainable tourism, and also requests that the draft Integrated Management Plan be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, prior to being finalised adopted and implemented;
5. Also welcomes the advice from the State Party that the recommendations of the 2017 Joint Reactive Monitoring mission and 2021 UNESCO Advisory mission are being comprehensively implemented and also notes the progress reports provided by the State Party on the implementation of specific mission recommendations;
6. Further notes the reports submitted on the four sphinxes from the Karnak Temple that were transferred to Tahrir Square in Cairo, the works undertaken and ongoing conservation and management arrangements for Sphinx Avenue, as well as the extensive information submitted regarding the lighting and security cameras project, the underground water project, works at the Temple of the Apt, the Temple of Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and the Temple of Seti, disabled access works at Karnak, as well as the Flood Emergency Plan for the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens;
7. Further requests the State Party to submit further information on the proposed implementation of the sustainable visitor services to be pursued through a public-private partnership for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
8. Further welcomes advice that the State Party will invite a Joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission in 2023 to evaluate the property’s state of conservation, assess implementation of the recommendations from the 2017 and 2021 missions, review ongoing and planned projects and assess how they may affect the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), and requests furthermore that the extensive documentation submitted by the State Party with its state of conservation report be reviewed by the mission;
9. Encourages again the State Party to continue exchanges with ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre to finalize the retrospective Statement of OUV for the property;
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.