Policy Compendium

Article 5

"[The World Heritage Convention calls upon States Parties] to adopt a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community (…)."

17. “(…) Inclusive social development is at the heart of the implementation of the (…) Convention. States Parties should further recognise that full inclusion, respect and equity of all stakeholders, including local and concerned communities and indigenous peoples, together with a commitment to gender equality, are a fundamental premise for inclusive social development (…)”.

19. “World Heritage properties have the potential to enhance quality of life and wellbeing of all stakeholders, and in particular local communities (…)”.

3. “In view of the increasing challenges to our shared heritage, we will:

c) (…) seek to ensure an appropriate and equitable balance between conservation, sustainability and development, so that World Heritage properties can be protected through appropriate activities contributing to the social and economic development and the quality of life of our communities;

f) (…) seek to ensure the active involvement of our local communities at all levels in the identification, protection and management of our World Heritage properties”.

Paragraph 12

“States Parties to the Convention are encouraged to adopt a human-rights based approach, and ensure gender-balanced participation of a wide variety of stakeholders and rights-holders, including site managers, local and regional governments, local communities, indigenous peoples, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other interested parties and partners in the identification, nomination, management and protection processes of World Heritage properties.”

Paragraph 39

“A partnership approach, underpinned by inclusive, transparent and accountable decision-making, to nomination, management and monitoring provides a significant contribution to the protection of World Heritage properties and the implementation of the Convention.”

Paragraph 40

“Partners in the protection and conservation of World Heritage can be those individuals and other stakeholders, especially local communities, indigenous peoples, governmental, non-governmental and private organizations and owners who have an interest and involvement in the conservation and management of a World Heritage property.”

Paragraph 64

“States Parties are encouraged to prepare their Tentative Lists with the full, effective and gender-balanced participation of a wide variety of stakeholders and rights-holders, including site managers, local and regional governments, local communities, indigenous peoples, NGOs and other interested parties and partners. In the case of sites affecting the lands, territories or resources of indigenous peoples, States Parties shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before including the sites on their Tentative List.”

Paragraph 117

“States Parties are responsible for implementing effective management activities for a World Heritage property. States Parties should do so in close collaboration with property managers, the agency with management authority and other partners, local communities and indigenous peoples, rights-holders and stakeholders in property management, by developing, when appropriate, equitable governance arrangements, collaborative management systems and redress mechanisms.”

Paragraph 123

“Effective and inclusive participation in the nomination process of local communities, indigenous peoples, governmental, non-governmental and private organizations and other stakeholders is essential to enable them to have a shared responsibility with the State Party in the maintenance of the property. States Parties are encouraged to prepare nominations with the widest possible participation of stakeholders and shall demonstrate, as appropriate, that the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples has been obtained, through, inter alia, making the nominations publicly available in appropriate languages and public consultations and hearings.”

[The General Assembly adopted the Vision and Action Plan by Resolution 18 GA 11; the paragraph refers to the report]

8. “The World Heritage Convention is implemented through a wide and ever-expanding network of actors. Each has an important role to play in shaping policies, driving management practices, building capacity and expanding awareness of cultural and natural heritage. (…) It is also important to ensure that local, national and international communities feel a connection to, engage with and benefit from the world’s natural and cultural heritage."

5. "[The World Heritage Committee] decides to maintain credibility, conservation, capacity building and communication as strategic objectives in the implementation of the Convention whilst restating the different components and, recognizing the critical importance of involving indigenous, traditional and local communities in the implementation of the Convention, further decides to add ‘communities’ as a fifth strategic objective."

15. g) “[The World Heritage Committee encourages States Parties to] establish and promote horizontal cooperation and understanding among various institutions that have an impact on cultural and natural heritage, also including governmental institutions responsible for UNESCO programmes implementation on national level, economy, finance, regional development/ planning, tourism, social welfare as well as local authorities”.

40. "[The World Heritage Committee] takes note with appreciation of the Chairperson of the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee’s initiative on structured dialogue with civil society and encourages States Parties and civil society organizations to continue exploring possibilities how civil society can further contribute to enhanced conservation of heritage on the site and national level and provide relevant input to the heritage related debate at the global level."

5. "[The World Heritage Committee] affirms the value of strengthening and improving dialogue between the Advisory Bodies and the States Parties."

13. "[The World Heritage Committee] welcomes the continued interest of civil society organizations in the Convention, acknowledging the important contribution that can be made to the promotion and conservation of heritage on the ground and to capacity-building."

Synthesis based on relevant Committee decisions

The World Heritage Committee requests State Parties to ensure that any relocation is carried out with the consent of the population concerned, and also requests to engage with communities in case of relocation, by ensuring an evaluation of the impact of the relocation and effective consultation  processes, as well as appropriate compensation of the affected local communities (based on Case law on decisions on the State of Conservation).

Synthesis based on relevant Committee decisions

The World Heritage Committee encourages States Parties to promote the customary governance and use of the sites, including the promotion of engagement of customary owners in decision-making processes (based on Case law on decisions on the State of Conservation).

Synthesis based on relevant Committee decisions

Synthesis based on relevant Committee decisions

The World Heritage Committee requests the States Parties to take urgent action to strengthen its efforts to ensure that human rights concerns are addressed and provide a full response to human right abuses in accordance with relevant international standards (based on case law on decisions on State of Conservation and Nomination).

7. "(...)

i. Human Rights: The human rights embedded in the UN Charter and the range of broadly ratified human rights instruments reflect fundamental values that underpin the very possibility for dignity, peace and sustainable development. In implementing the World Heritage Convention, it is therefore essential to respect, protect and promote these environmental, social, economic, and cultural rights".

17. "The World Heritage Convention in Article 5 calls upon States Parties to “adopt a general policy which aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community”. States Parties should recognise that inclusive social development is at the heart of the implementation of this provision of the Convention. States Parties should further recognise that full inclusion, respect and equity of all stakeholders, including local and concerned communities and indigenous peoples, together with a commitment to gender equality, are a fundamental premise for inclusive social development. Enhancing quality of life and well-being in and around World Heritage properties is essential, taking into account communities who might not visit or reside in or near properties but are still stakeholders. Inclusive social development must be underpinned by inclusive governance".

18. "States Parties should ensure that the conservation and management of World Heritage properties is based on recognition of cultural diversity, inclusion and equity (…)".

20. "(…) To ensure policy coherence in conserving and managing World Heritage properties, States Parties should commit to uphold, respect and contribute to the implementation of the full range of international human rights standards as a pre-requisite for effectively achieving sustainable development. To this end, States Parties should:

i. Ensure that the full cycle of World Heritage processes from nomination to management is compatible with and supportive of human rights;

ii. Adopt a rights-based approach, which promotes World Heritage properties as exemplary places for the application of the highest standards for the respect and realization of human rights;

iii. Develop, through equitable participation of concerned people, relevant standards and safeguards, guidance tools and operational mechanisms for assessment, nomination, management, evaluation and reporting processes compatible with and effective rights-based approach for both existing and potential new properties;

iv. Promote technical cooperation and capacity-building to ensure effective rights-based approaches".

"7. [The World Heritage Committee] urges the State Party and the international community to include recovery actions within the properties to the overall humanitarian, security and peace building response."

28. “Sustainable development and the conservation of the world’s cultural and natural heritage are undermined by war, civil conflict and all forms of violence. The World Heritage Convention is an integral part of UNESCO’s established mandate to build bridges towards peace and security. It is therefore incumbent upon States Parties, in conformity also with provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The 1954 Hague Convention) and its two (1954 and 1999) Protocols, for the States that have ratified them, as well as in accordance with the UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage (2003) and international customary law protecting cultural property in the event of armed conflict, to ensure that the implementation of the World Heritage Convention is used to promote the achievement and maintenance of peace and security between and within States Parties”.

29. “Recalling also the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), States Parties should therefore acknowledge the reality of cultural diversity within and around many World Heritage properties, and promote a culturally pluralistic approach in strategies for their conservation and management. States Parties should also recognise that peace and security, including freedom from conflict, discrimination and all forms of violence, require respect for human rights, effective systems of justice, inclusive political processes and appropriate systems of conflict prevention, resolution and post-conflict recovery”.

30. “States Parties have a critically important role to play in ensuring that the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, including the establishment of the World Heritage List and management of inscribed properties, are used to prevent conflicts between and within States Parties and to promote respect for cultural diversity and around World Heritage properties (…)”.

31. “During armed conflict, States Parties must refrain from any use of World Heritage properties and their immediate surroundings for purposes which are likely to expose them to destruction or damage. They must also refrain from any act of hostility directed against such properties (…)”.

32. “The inherent potential of World Heritage properties and of their conservation to contribute favourably to conflict resolution and re-establishment of peace and security should be acknowledged and harnessed (…)”

33. “During a conflict and in the post-conflict transition phase, World Heritage properties and their wider settings can make a significant contribution to recovery and socio-economic reconstruction (…)”.

2. "[The World Heritage Committee] expresses its utmost concern about the many conflicts which are affecting World Heritage properties and in particular the (…) cases where World Heritage properties are intentionally destroyed by parties involved in the conflict, and the people in charge of their protection targeted; (…) [and] seeks their support (…) for establishing property inventories and also requests the implementation of conservation measures for cultural properties threatened by armed conflict in other countries."

4. "[The World Heritage Committee] urges all parties associated with conflicts to refrain from any action that would cause further damage to cultural heritage and to fulfil their obligations under international law by taking all possible measures to protect such heritage, in particular the safeguarding of World Heritage properties and the sites included in the Tentative List;

5. Also urges the States Parties to adopt measures for the evacuation of World Heritage properties being used for military purposes."

13. "[The World Heritage Committee] launches an appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage objects (UNESCO 1970 Convention) and illegal wildlife trade, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and to pursue the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding cultural heritage protection in conflict areas, especially Resolution 2199 and 2347."

21. "[The World Heritage Committee] appeals to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects and illegal wildlife trade, as well as cultural heritage protection in general, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2199 (2015), 2253 (2015) and 2347 (2017) and of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import and Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property."

9. "[The World Heritage Committee] Reiterates its utmost concern about the continuing threats of wildlife poaching and illegal trafficking of wildlife products linked to impacts of conflict and organized crime, which is eroding the biodiversity and Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of many World Heritage sites across the world, and urges States Parties to take the necessary measures to curb this problem, including through the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);"

Synthesis based on relevant Committee decisions

The World Heritage Committee urges States Parties in conflict situations to safeguard damaged properties through minimal first aid interventions to prevent theft, further collapse and natural degradation, and to refrain from undertaking conservation and restoration work until the situation allows, for the development of comprehensive conservation strategies and actions that respond to international standards in full consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies (based on Case law further to Decisions concerning the State of Conservation).