Decision 45 COM 7B.54

Gelati Monastery (Georgia) (C 710bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.47 adopted at its 44th extended session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Commends the State Party on the efficiency with which it has attempted to address the deficiencies concerning the roofs installed in 2015-2018 in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and St George’s Church and to prevent further decay of the historic murals, in collaboration with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies and through engagement of international experts, as well as on the timely organization and facilitation of a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission to provide recommendations on the way forward to address those deficiencies and other issues pertaining to the state of conservation of the property;
4. Endorses the recommendations of the 2022 Advisory mission to the property and requests the State Party to follow them in its pursuit of the programme to redress the conservation challenges at the property and to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, documentation on further emergency interventions and longer-term conservation strategy and measures, as well as relevant technical material, prior to implementation;
5. Takes note that redressing the conservation challenges at the property will require large financial resources over a long period, and reiterates its call for an increased mobilization of the international community to provide more financial and technical support to the State Party, including to enhance the capacity of Georgian experts whose increased involvement in the longer-term conservation efforts at Gelati is important for the sustainable conservation and management of the property;
6. Notes the submission of detailed expert reports to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, and the need to document all new interventions in detail, and further requests the State Party to:
   1. Submit the holistic conservation programme, with plan and road map, and the updated Conservation Master Plan to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies,
   2. Submit designs and details of all new temporary and permanent roofing proposals to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies,
   3. Continue engaging with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, either directly or through the submission of technical material for review,
   4. Initiate a documentation programme that records the technical and process details of all interventions to the built fabric of the property;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to review and update the Management Plan for the property and to continue its efforts to develop indicators to monitor the state of conservation of the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, and further requests the State Party to submit the above to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Encourages the State Party to pursue a closer dialogue with different stakeholders about the protection measures taken at the property, including through the World Heritage Protection Council of Georgia at the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia;
9. Requests furthermore the State Party to invite during 2024 a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess the conservation measures taken, the development and implementation of the holistic conservation programme, including Conservation Master Plan and roadmap, the updating of the Management Plan, the steps undertaken to improve the management system and its effectiveness, and the overall state of conservation of the property;
10. Requests moreover 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.