World Heritage Committee adopts by consensus decisions on the Middle East

During the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee currently taking place until 10 July in Baku (Azerbaijan), four decisions concerning the Middle East were adopted by consensus, after constructive discussions between all delegations involved including Israel, Jordan and Palestine, and mediation by the UNESCO Secretariat.

In her opening statement to the Committee, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay welcomed this climate of cooperation: “Since I took office, we have set up a mediation process on decisions relating to the Middle East. This has enabled the adoption of consensus texts by the Executive Board and each Heritage Committee. I wish to thank the Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian delegations for their spirit of responsibility, which has made it possible to come before this Committee once again with projects accepted by all of the parties concerned. This consensus is a starting point that must be sustained to allow concrete progress on the ground. In this regard, I mentioned during the last session of the Executive Board several avenues of reflection to be further discussed with all actors concerned in the coming months."

Draft decisions can be found in the Documents of the World Heritage Committee session.