Decision 42 COM 7A.22

Archaeological Site of Cyrene (Libya) (C 190)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7A[.ADD],
2. Recalling Decisions 41 COM 7A.37 and 41 COM 8C.2 adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Commends the State Party for the important efforts made to elaborate the strategy to protect Libyan World Heritage properties, despite the prevailing unstable situation and difficult working conditions on the ground;
4. Notes with appreciation the issuing of a Municipal Resolution in 2017 to address urban encroachment at the property and requests the State Party to continue its efforts to eliminate encroachment;
5. Also commends the State Party for the important advances in the definition of the buffer zone of the property, and encourages it to pursue the finalization of the boundary clarification and the minor boundary modification in close consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, and in line with Paragraph 164 of the Operational Guidelines;
6. Also encourages the State Party to submit an International Assistance request to address the pressing conservation and management issues, lack of funds and inadequate human resources that the property is currently facing;
7. Reiterates its request to 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 its protection and conservation, and to continue to provide detailed information on the works carried out, including technical explanations justifying the interventions;
8. Also reiterates its request to the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, as soon as the security conditions permit;
9. Calls for an increased mobilization of the international community to provide more financial and technical support to the State Party, including through the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund, to implement the short and medium-term measures identified during the International Meeting on the Safeguard of Libyan Cultural Heritage (Tunis, May 2016);
10. Launches an appeal to all Member States of UNESCO to cooperate in fighting against the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage coming from Libya, in engaging in the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflict as per the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2347 of March 2017, the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Heritage during times of Armed Conflict and the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and further encourages the State Party to consider ratifying the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural objects;
11. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, 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 43rd session in 2019;
12. Decides to retain the Archaeological Site of Cyrene (Libya) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.