Concern after fire at Milot Church, Haiti

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., expressed his concern about the fire that, on the morning of 13 April, seriously affected the Milot Church inside the National Historic Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers, in Haiti, a property inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982.

"We are in contact with the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN), which is currently carrying out an initial assessment of the damage caused by the fire," said Mr. Ottone R.  "We hope that, despite the constraints also imposed in Haiti by the Covid-19 pandemic, it will be possible to intervene first to analyze with precision the situation and what is needed,  and then to consider solutions in line with the Outstanding Universal Value of the site. We are of course at Haiti’s side in this drama."

The Milot Church served as the royal chapel of the Sans-Souci site during the reign of Henri Christophe at the beginning of the 19th century. It is one of the first buildings constructed when the Haitian Republic proclaimed its independence.