Decision 45 COM 7B.42

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakhstan) (C 1103)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.31 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Welcomes the continued monitoring of the Mausoleum by the State Party’s advisors, and requests that the recommendations of the February 2022 report by the International Institute of Central Asian Studies (IICAS) be implemented;
4. Also requests that the State Party provide an update report on the functioning and effect of the Scientific-Methodological Council constituted in 2019;
5. Also welcomes the extensive presentation, interpretation and awareness-raising programmes, the installation of interpretative signage in the buffer zone, and the investigations and stabilization of the archaeological remains located in the buffer zone, along with the State Party’s commitment to monitor the new landscape interventions in the buffer zone for their potential impact on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV);
6. Further requests the State Party to develop a full list of the attributes bearing the OUV and the contribution of the buffer zone and wider setting to the authenticity and integrity of the property, along with a complete framework of monitoring indicators, and to submit these to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
7. Acknowledges the State Party’s submission of Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) for seven projects in the property’s buffer zone and setting, but regrets that six of these were only undertaken after the projects had been completed, and therefore can only be considered as post-project analysis documents;
8. Requests furthermore that no decision be made nor any implementation begin for the project ‘Phase II of the Improvement of the Territory of the Azret-Sultan Reserve-Museum’ until an improved HIA has been undertaken and conclusively shows that the project will not have any negative impact on the OUV of the property, and until full details of the project have been submitted to the World Heritage Centre and reviewed by the Advisory Bodies;
9. Encourages the State Party to request the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM to provide onsite training and capacity building on the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context and assist it in improving its impact assessment practice;
10. Reminds the State Party to inform it in due course, via the World Heritage Centre, about any projects that may affect the property’s OUV, with necessary documentation based on rigorous independent impact assessment procedures before they are approved or implemented, and before any irreversible decision is made, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines and in conformity with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context;
11. Notes that the Turkestan Master Plan allows for construction heights in the protected view cones exceeding the 7-metre height limit previously requested by this Committee, and reiterates its request to the State Party that it ensure that the Master Plan:
    1. Recognises the OUV of the property,
    2. Includes the View Axis Protection Area that prohibits any new development within the area from exceeding the 7-metre height limit;
12. Requests moreover the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, the amended Master Plan, including high-resolution copies of the ‘Historical and Architectural basic plan’ and the ‘Master plan with the marked visual access protection zone’, along with the relevant written regulations and any other relevant documentation, in one of the working languages of the Convention;
13. Requests the State Party to finalise its revision of the Management Plan by extending its scope and including:
    1. Clearly articulated attributes of OUV that need to be protected and managed, developed in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies,
    2. Principles and operationalization measures for future development,
    3. A Disaster Risk Management Plan,
    4. A Visitor Management Plan for the property;
14. Finally 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.