Decision 41 COM 7A.37

Archaeological Site of Cyrene (Libya) (C 190)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 40 COM 7B.24 and 40 COM 7B.106, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Commends the State Party for the important efforts made to ensure the protection and conservation of the property, despite the prevailing unstable situation and difficult working conditions on the ground;
4. Expresses its concern regarding the numerous difficulties faced by the Department of Antiquities of Cyrene (DOAC) in the protection of the property, especially from urban encroachment;
5. Reiterates its call for an increased mobilization of the international community to provide more financial and technical support to Libya to implement the short- and medium-term measures identified during the International Meeting on the Safeguard of Libyan Cultural Heritage (Tunis, May 2016);
6. Requests the World Heritage Centre to assist the State Party to organize as soon as possible a follow-up technical workshop to explore ways for the monitoring and management of the property and for the elaboration of a map indicating the precise boundaries of the property and of its buffer zone, as well as the locations of encrochments and interventions of the DOAC , and any additional information useful in the conservation of the property and its buffer zone;
7. Also requests the State Party to keep the World Heritage Centre regularly informed of the evolution of the situation at the property and of any new measures undertaken to ensure the protection and conservation of the property, and to provide a detailed report on the restoration works carried out, including technical explanations justifying these interventions;
8. Reiterates its request that the State Party invite the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS to carry out a mission to Libya as soon as the security conditions permit;
9. Calls on all UNESCO Member States to support emergency safeguarding measures, including through the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, 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 42nd session in 2018;
11. Decides to retain Archaeological Site of Cyrene (Libya) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.