Ancient City of Damascus

Before the conflict:

• Society valuing of heritage (Poor state of conservation)
• Changes in traditional ways of life and knowledge system (Inappropriate restoration techniques)
• Legal framework (Lack of a buffer zone) (issue resolved)
• Management System/Management Plan (Lack of a management plan)
• Housing (Development projects threatening the emblematic historic fabric)
• Ground transport infrastructure (Development projects threatening the emblematic historic fabric) (issue resolved)

Since March 2011:

• War (Damage due to the armed conflict)
• Other factors (Fire due to an electrical incident at al-Asrooniya and elsewhere in the property)
• Management activities (Lack of maintenance of the sewage system due to the conflict)

Destruction as well as ascertained and potential threats consequent to the armed conflict in Syria started in March 2011

Drafted; proposed for adoption in the draft Decision below

Drafted; proposed for adoption in the draft Decision below

Drafted; proposed for adoption in the draft Decision below

Total amount granted to the property: USD 10,000 from the Italian Funds-in-Trust.
Total amount provided to the six Syrian World Heritage properties: 200,000 Euros by the Italian Government; for movable and intangible heritage: 2.46 million Euros by the European Union, USD 170,000 by the Flemish Government, 63,000 Euros by the Austrian Government, USD 200,000 by the German Government; for cultural heritage under conflict: USD 200,000 by the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage in Bahrain

On 15 January 2020 and 7 January 2021, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report for the six Syrian World Heritage properties, which are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20/documents/, and include updated information on progress and challenges in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee, as follows:

• On 2 February 2019, a 10x5m portion of the outer ancient city wall in the area between Bab al-Salam and Bab Touma collapsed, owing to the lack of proper maintenance and water leakage from a damaged sewerage network. In October 2020, Emergency Assistance was provided under the World Heritage Fund for ‘Safeguarding the Damascus Ancient City Wall and the Adjacent Urban Fabric’. The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) has been documenting the area of Bab al-Salam and Bab Touma, assessing damage and threats, including through exploration trenches and using 3D documentation. The team has also sorted, analysed and stored the stones of the collapsed section of the wall for use in its restoration;
• The DGAM continued to implement the 2013 Emergency Response Plan and reported a substantial reduction of fire incidents. Nevertheless, several fires broke out in 2019 within the buffer zone of the property, showing that the threat remains;
• The use of inadequate building materials, arising from the lack and high cost of traditional building materials and lack of specialized professional labour, remains a major issue;
• Despite numerous difficulties, the security situation in the city has enabled progress with the management plan. Consultation with local communities is being carried out and a temporary restriction of car circulation in the property is being trialled. Cooperation with the relevant stakeholders on the documentation and preservation of historical buildings is ongoing;
• Concerning the “Ottoman Bank”, a progress report was submitted in the framework of the elaboration of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) initiated with the World Heritage Centre with the Advisory Bodies. Although restoration of the Ottoman Bank has been initiated, the DGAM continues to face difficulties in controlling the work, owing to the lack of funding and divergences among stakeholders. A number of other documents were provided as well, notably the stakeholders’ common database of available documentation for historic buildings;
• On a general note, conservation works have resumed at the property according to the availability of resources. The State Party considers that the threats for which the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger are no longer applicable and has invited a Reactive Monitoring mission to assess the implementation of the necessary corrective measures for the removal of the property from this List.

See General Decision 44 COM 24 of this Document on the World Heritage properties of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The efforts of the State Party to implement the 2013 Emergency Response Plan have reduced the number of fire incidents within the property, which is a positive development that should be maintained. Nevertheless, analysing and addressing reasons behind fires, as previously requested by the Committee, remains necessary.

It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to scale-up efforts to ensure that traditional restoration techniques and materials are used, in order to address cumulative potential threats to the authenticity of the property. This could be achieved by strengthening actions for the establishment of the Centre for the traditional production of building materials, as reported in 2019, as well as through the training of specialized labour and the enforcement of licensing regulations. 

Despite the difficult financial situation, the State Party has resumed documentation, conservation and management activities. The Emergency Assistance support has facilitated documentation work for the ancient city wall and surrounding urban fabric, aiming at identifying the reasons behind the collapse of the wall in order to minimize risks and plan for restoration. It is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to also seek international support for continuing the work towards the elaboration of the management plan for the property. The Management Plan remains crucial to inform restoration decisions and ensure coordination among stakeholders.

It is also recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to continue implementing all of the recommendations of the 2016 UNESCO First Aid Support Meeting and the 2016 UNESCO Technical Assistance Workshop, including in the rehabilitation of the “Ottoman Bank”. In particular, interior partitions in the central courtyard of the upper floor are to be avoided, as recommended by the UNESCO experts.

Within the framework of the Italian funded project on “Reinforcing Cultural Heritage Protection in Syria and in the Ancient City of Bosra in particular as a follow up to the World Heritage Committee Decisions”, a Technical Assistance workshop was initially organized in Beirut in October 2019 to address the conservation and management of several World Heritage properties in Syria, including the Ancient City of Damascus. It was planned to assess on-going emergency interventions undertaken by DGAM, to provide advice on the development of the management plan and the conservation of the collapsed city wall, and to initiate elaboration of the DSOCR. However, because of the prevailing security situation in Lebanon at the time, the workshop could not take place as planned. The workshop was rescheduled for March 2020 in Amman (Jordan), but could not take place due to the prevailing sanitary conditions restricting travel and meetings. Nevertheless, work on the DSOCR has been initiated remotely through the close collaboration of the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS, ICCROM and the DGAM. Three online meetings, organized on 19 November 2020, 15 February and 3 May 2021, as well as substantial follow up, allowed the work to progress in this regard. The proposed DSOCR, corrective measures, and a timeframe for implementation have been established, and are recommended for adoption.

Given the progress achieved in resuming regular conservation and management work at the property, including the restoration of the “Ottoman Bank” historical building, it remains crucial that the invited joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission take place as soon as the situation allows, to enable a comprehensive assessment of the state of conservation of the property.

24.       General Decision on the World Heritage properties of the Syrian Arab Republic

Current conservation issues

The armed conflict in Syria started in March 2011 and escalated leading to significant violence and degradation of humanitarian conditions. It has inflicted damage on the inscribed properties as well as on the 12 sites inscribed on the Tentative List. Sites have been damaged by shelling, fires, extensive illegal excavations, military use, construction violations, in addition to intentional targeted destruction of cultural property by armed groups, and inappropriate use of archaeological sites by internally displaced populations. Some sites remain at risk as a result of the conflict.

On 15 January 2020 and 7 January 2021, the State Party submitted state of conservation reports, available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/44COM/documents/#state_of_conservation_reports. These reports represent official statements by the Syrian authorities and collate available information from the various branches of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) up to 31 December 2020. In some areas, access to heritage sites is extremely limited. In particular, the property of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria remains inaccessible, preventing full understanding of the extent of damage to this site and reliance on third party documentation.

The State Party has reported on actions carried out by the DGAM, despite the difficult working conditions. These comprise monitoring World Heritage properties and cultural heritage in general, and assessing damage, including some very detailed reporting for the Ancient City of Bosra, the Ancient City of Aleppo, and the Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din. Emergency conservation and risk mitigation actions have occurred whenever possible as well as restoration and reconstruction activities, in particular at the properties of the Ancient City of Aleppo, and the Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din. At the site of the Ancient City of Damascus, which suffered to a lesser extent as a result of the conflict, the State Party has resumed regular conservation and management activities, in parallel to the emergency works undertaken at the ancient city wall. The State Party reports emphasise that the reasons for which the Ancient City of Damascus and the Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger no longer apply. The reports also stress the extreme financial difficulties that the DGAM is facing in its efforts to ensure the preservation of cultural heritage, in addition to the limited international funding provided to support these efforts.

Updated information on the conservation of sites inscribed on the Tentative List was also provided in the report, indicating the following:

• At the sites of the ‘Arwad Island’, ‘Maaloula’ ‘Noreas of Hama’, ‘Tartus: The Crusaders Citadel-City’ and ‘Ugrarit (Tell Shamra)’ restoration and maintenance works are being undertaken. In particular, in Maaloula, local communities are being consulted in view of the elaboration of a nomination file for the site. At Arwad Island, no new development concerning the tourism project has been reported;
• Access to the sites ‘Apamea (Afamia)’, ‘Mari (Tell Hariri) and Dura Europos’ and ‘Qasr al-Hayr ach-Charqi, a Desert Castle’ is still limited owing to the presence of landmines;
• Drone images were taken for ‘Dura Europos’ and ‘Qasr al-Hayr ach-Charqi, a Desert Castle’ in September 2019, ‘Mari (Tell Hariri)’ in September 2019 and October 2020, and ‘Ebla (Tell Mardikh)’ in May 2020, confirming extensive looting and damage;
• No information could be reported for the site of ‘Raqqa-Rafiqa and The Abbasid City’.

The report highlights requests by the DGAM for technical support for updating the Syrian Tentative List, initiating the process of nomination for the site of ‘Maaloula’, and carrying out assessment surveys at the sites of ‘Apamea (Afamia)’, ‘Mari (Tell Hariri) and Dura Europos’ and ‘Qasr al-Hayr ach-Charqi, a desert Castle’.

Activities undertaken by UNESCO

• Since the 43rd session of the Committee (Baku, 2019), UNESCO has pursued actions to assist sustained efforts to safeguard cultural heritage of Syria;
• At the international level, UNESCO continues to raise awareness of the international community on the destruction of cultural heritage of Syria, in the framework of the implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2199 (February 2015) and Resolution 2347 (March 2017) recognizing the importance of heritage protection for peace and security;
• At the national level, UNESCO has monitored the situation of Syrian cultural heritage, raised awareness on its protection, undertaken actions to safeguard it, and coordinated work of national and international entities;
• The UNESCO-UNITAR joint publication “Five years of Conflict: the State of Cultural Heritage in the Ancient City of Aleppo” launched in November 2018 has been translated into Arabic and French, and is available at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265826;
• Another joint publication with UNITAR “Ten Years of Conflict: the State of Conservation of cultural heritage in Syria” is under preparation, with funding support from the States Parties of Germany and Norway. It is planned to be launched in 2021;
• The World Heritage Centre, with the support of the State Party of the Netherlands, organized a Technical Meeting on the Recovery of the World Heritage Site of Palmyra on 18 December 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters, which was attended by over 30 international experts. This meeting focused on issues of reconstruction and recovery at the property, and a number of recommendations were agreed (see https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2133);
• An International Assistance request has been approved for Qal’at Salah El-Din (March 2020). This assistance will facilitate systematic documentation of damage incurred at Qal’at Salah El-Din, implementation of risk mitigation measures, and elaboration of a conservation Management and Master Plan for the site and its surroundings. The International Assistance request approved for the Crac des Chevaliers in January 2019 is still under implementation;
• An Emergency International Assistance request has been approved for Safeguarding the Damascus Ancient City Wall and the Adjacent Urban Fabric (the area between Bab al-Salam and Bab Touma). This assistance facilitates documentation work, the implementation of risk mitigation measures, and the elaboration of a restoration project for the collapsed portion of the wall.

In the framework of the Italian Funds-in-Trust project entitled “Reinforcing Cultural Heritage Protection in Syria, and in the Ancient City of Bosra in particular as a follow up to the World Heritage Committee Decisions” (200 000 Euros), a technical assistance workshop was initially organized in Beirut in October 2019, in order to assess ongoing emergency interventions undertaken by the DGAM at the Ancient City of Bosra, the Ancient City of Damascus and at the Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din. The meeting was also intended to provide advice on recovery interventions, and to initiate elaboration of the Desired State of Conservation for the Removal of the properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR). Owing to the prevailing security situation in Lebanon at the time, the workshop could not take place, so it was rescheduled for March 2020 in Amman (Jordan), but again could not take place because of the prevailing sanitary conditions restricting travel and meetings. The workshop will still take place as soon as health conditions allow. Nevertheless, initial work on DSOCRs for some of the Syrian World Heritage properties was initiated remotely, through exchanges between the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and the DGAM. Online meetings were organized on 19 November 2020, 15 February and 3 May 2021. The DSCOR for the Ancient City of Damascus was finalized in May 2021, and the process is regarded as a successful ‘pilot project’ for proceeding with the implementation of the DSOCR process in circumstances when a Reactive Monitoring mission is not possible.

Activities undertaken by the Advisory Bodies

ICOMOS has actively participated in the above ‘pilot project’ to devise the document for the DSOCR of the Ancient City of Damascus and related corrective measures. Although this process has facilitated the preparation of the DSOCR, it remains desirable that a Reactive Monitoring mission take place as soon as circumstances allow. ICOMOS has also participated in preliminary steps to follow a similar approach for Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din, and it is expected that preliminary work on the DSOCR for the Ancient City of Bosra and for the Site of Palmyra will be initiated subsequently.

ICOMOS made presentations on Syrian heritage in the context of several meetings, as follows: Conference on "Reconstruction and Recovery of Towns after war damage in the different parts of the world. Theory, methodology, practice", International Committee on Historic Cities, Towns and Villages (CIVVIH), September 2019 (Poland); “Bouncing back after the drama: heritage and resilience" Institut National du Patrimoine – Blue Shield France, January 2020 (France); “Private actors/institutional actors, which mission, which methods?" Institut National du Patrimoine – École du Louvre, February 2021 (France); "A Hundred/Thousand Years: Genealogies and Perspectives of the National Museum of Damascus", Institut national d'histoire de l'art, April 2021 (France).

ICOMOS members also contributed to the publication “After Hour Zero – learning from post-war experiences for Syria? Preservation of historical monuments, archaeology and urban planning as an international task)", German Archaeology Institute (DAI), November 2019 (Germany).

Analysis and Conclusions of the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and ICCROM

The situation of armed conflict in Syria has affected the six World Heritage properties and has substantially limited capacities to sustain and protect their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The properties have been increasingly threatened by ascertained and potential dangers.

Illegal excavations across archaeological sites and tels in Syria are causing extensive and irreversible damage to those sites, a number of which are on Syria’s Tentative List. They are also a major source for the illicit trafficking of cultural property, providing looted artifacts to be sold in regional and international black markets.

It is recommended that the Committee commend the DGAM, heritage professionals in Syria and local communities who have made sustained efforts in monitoring and protecting cultural heritage, and implementing first aid measures for its safeguarding, despite the very difficult situation.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies will continue to support the State Party in the identification of the necessary corrective measures and in the development of DSOCRs, and have been successfully pursuing more flexible approaches and online engagement that have demonstrated that the preparation of DSOCRs can be progressed, despite the current circumstances and inability to schedule Reactive monitoring missions at this time.

It is important that humanitarian and security related actions be carried out in coordination with cultural heritage stakeholders, to avoid further irreversible damages to the properties, and allow for undertaking first aid measures for its cultural heritage. Furthermore, it is recommended that systematic documentation of all damage incurred at World Heritage properties be pursued, whenever the situation allows, and that the Committee reiterate its call to the State Party to continue to safeguard damaged properties through minimal first aid interventions to prevent theft, further collapse and natural degradation, and to refrain from undertaking other measures until the situation allows for the development of a comprehensive strategy and action plan that respond to international standards and high-quality scientific methods.

It is recommended that the Committee further encourage the State Party to plan for the future of the World Heritage properties according to international conservation charters and standards, in full consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, also taking into consideration the 2018 Warsaw Recommendation on Recovery and Reconstruction. It is also appropriate to remind the State Party of its obligation to transmit to the World Heritage Centre, for examination by the Advisory Bodies, detailed information on future projects, before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

It is recommended that the Committee also call for international and national heritage professionals to continue to unite for the safeguarding of Syria’s cultural heritage; and to further support its safeguarding through earmarked funds and contributions to the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund.

Until conditions improve, it is recommended that the Committee repeat its previous call for all parties associated with the conflict in Syria to refrain from any action that could further damage the heritage of the country, in particular all World Heritage properties and sites included on the Tentative List, and to fulfil their obligations under international law, especially the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2347 of March 2017, in part by taking all possible measures to protect such heritage and preventing any damage that may result from targeting World Heritage properties, and support recovery plans that are based on community participation, sustainability and inclusion.

It is also recommended that the Committee reiterate its suggestion that the State Party consider ratifying the Second Protocol (1999) of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

It is further recommended that the Committee also call upon all parties associated with the conflict in Syria and the international community, in particular the countries neighboring Syria, to ensure effective measures for the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural objects, in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2199.