World Heritage Centre

3 COM I.1 Introduction

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The third session of the World Heritage Committee was held in Cairo, Egypt (22 October 1979) and in Luxor, Egypt (23-26 October) at the kind invitation of the Egyptian Government. The meeting was attended by the following States members of the World Heritage Committee: Australia, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Iran, Italy, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Senegal, Switzerland, United States of America and Yugoslavia.

3 COM I.2 Introduction

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

Representatives of the International Centre for Conservation (ICCROM), of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) attended the meeting in an advisory capacity.

3 COM I.3 Introduction

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

Observers from three States Parties to the Convention which were not members of the Committee, namely Canada, Federal Republic of Germany and Honduras also attended the session, as well as observers from two other international organizations: the Organization for Museums, Monuments and Sites of Africa (OMMSA) and the International Union of Architects (IUA).

3 COM I.4 Introduction

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The full list of participants will be found in Annex I to this report.

3 COM II.5 Opening of the session and Adoption of the agenda

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The Chairman, Mr. David Hales, declared the session open and proposed that items 2 to 4 of the Provisional Agenda be considered before the inaugural ceremony.

3 COM II.6 Opening of the session and Adoption of the agenda

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

This Proposal was accepted by the Committee which proceeded to examine the Provisional Agenda prepared for the meeting. The Chairman proposed that:

i) an additional item be added to the agenda as item 5, namely
"Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and action to be taken thereon";

ii) items 5 and 6 of the Provisional Agenda be examined as one item, and

iii) item 14 should be reworded as follows "Support services to the Secretariat and to the advisory international organizations".

With those modifications, the Committee adopted the Agenda.

3 COM III.7 Revision of the Rules of Procedure

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The Committee had before it a recommendation from the Bureau that the Committee's Rules of Procedure be amended to provide for the replacement of the Rapporteur when the Rapporteur was unable to act at any session of the Committee or part thereof or was unable for any reason to complete his term of office (document CC-79/CONF.003/2). The procedure proposed for the replacement of the Rapporteur was identical to that foreseen in the Rules of Procedure for the replacement of the Chairman.

3 COM III.8 Revision of the Rules of Procedure

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

After examining the Bureau's proposal, the Committee therefore decided to amend its Rules of Procedure by inserting immediately after Rule 14 an additional Rule providing for the replacement of the Rapporteur. Rules 15 to 37 would be re-numbered accordingly.

3 COM IV.9 Election of the Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and Rapporteur

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

Dr. Shehata Adam (Egypt) was elected as Chairman of the Committee by acclamation. The Committee then elected by acclamation the following States members of the Committee as Vice-Chairmen: Bulgaria, Nepal, Panama, Senegal and United States of America and Mr. Michel Parent (France) as Rapporteur.

3 COM IV.10 Election of the Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and Rapporteur

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

In a reply to a member of the Committee, Dr. Shehata Adam, in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee, stated that States members of the Bureau would be invited to designate as their representatives at meetings of the Bureau persons qualified in both the natural and the cultural heritage, so that a proper balance would be maintained.

3 COM V.11 Inaugural Ceremony

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The Committee was honoured by the presence of H. Exc. Mrs. Jihan El-Sadat, First Lady of Egypt and of H. Exc. Dr. Mansour Hassan, Minister of Presidency, Information and Culture, who both addressed the meeting during the inaugural ceremony; the representative of the Director General, Mr. G. Bolla, and the Chairman of the Committee also addressed the meeting.

3 COM VI.12 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

In reporting to the Committee on activities undertaken during the previous year, the former Chairman, Mr. David Hales, focussed on significant successes noted by the Committee and he also referred to serious problems for the future. He drew attention to the increase in the number of ratifications or acceptances of the Convention which totalled 48, to the substantial increase in the number of fellowships provided under the World Heritage Fund as well as in the assistance provided for the protection of sites. Mr. Hales also laid stress on the vast increase in the number of nominations received for inscription on the World Heritage List. However, he had become aware over the past year of the fact that the Convention remained largely an unknown body in the majority of countries and that many Governments did not fully understand its implications. He expressed his concern with respect to the extremely heavy workload for the Secretariat, the advisory organizations, the Bureau and the Committee itself, and he noted that the staff on the Secretariat of the Committee was still insufficient. Another problem was raised by the increasing imbalance between cultural and natural representation on the Committee and he felt that appropriate action should be taken by the States members of the Committee to redress this situation so that the credibility of the World Heritage List should not be put in doubt. Lastly, he underlined the serious responsibility of the Committee with respect to the List, stressing that the Committee's wisdom would be judged by the composition of the List.

3 COM VI.13 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The Rapporteur then proceeded to report on the last two sessions of the Bureau. The written report of the 2nd session, which took place in Paris from 28-30 May 1979, gave rise to no comments from the members of the Committee.

3 COM VI.14 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The report on the third session of the Bureau which took place in Cairo on 21 October 1979 was read before the Committee. Those points raised by the Bureau which called for decisions by the Committee and which were not the subject of an item on the Agenda were then taken up by the
Committee.

3 COM VI.15 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

Thus, with respect to paragraph 16 of the report on the different types of recommendation formulated by the Bureau to the Committee on nominations, the Committee decided to adopt for its third session the procedure proposed by the Bureau which is as follows: nominations would not be examined by the Committee: (a) when the deadlines for their submission had not been respected, (b) when their proper processing had not been possible and (c) when it was evident that the supporting documentation was incomplete and/or inadequate; on the other hand those nominations which raised problems of application of the criteria (calling in some cases for the submission of additional documentation) would be submitted to the Committee for consideration with a recommendation from the Bureau that action be deterred, together with those recommended to the World Heritage List and those definitively not recommended for inscription on the List.

3 COM VI.16 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The Committee agreed with the proposal or the Bureau that in the case of properties which fully met the criteria for inclusion in the World Heritage List and which had suffered damage from disasters, the normal deadlines for the submission and processing of dossiers may be waived by the Bureau.

3 COM VI.17 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The Committee also shared the concern of the Bureau at the establishment in the United Kingdom of an organization bearing the name of "World Heritage Association" and of a Fund called "Heritage Trust". The Committee felt strongly that the use in names of the term "World Heritage" should be strictly limited to those activities directly related to the Convention and considered that the use of these terms in the titles of other organizations could only lead to confusion which would be regrettable. It therefore requested the Chairman to write to the above-mentioned Association, expressing the concern of the Committee, requesting it to modify its name so that the terms "World Heritage" no longer appeared therein and suggesting that the Association adopt a name such as the sub-title proposed by its Chairman designate ("International Federation of Independent Organizations for the protection of the cultural and natural heritage").

3 COM VI.18 Report by former Chairman and Rapporteur on activities undertaken during the period September 1978-October 1979 and Action to be taken thereon

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

Following the recommendation of the Bureau, the Committee decided to set up three working groups, as follows:

A. On criteria for the evaluation of cultural property and the processing of nominations, composed of:

Australia, Bulgaria (Chairman), Ecuador, France, Iran, Italy, Panama, United States of America, Canada (observer), ICOMOS and OMMSA.

B. On the management of the Convention and its financial implications, composed of:

Australia, France, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal (Chairmen), Switzerland, United States of America, Yugoslavia, ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM.

C. On criteria for the evaluation of natural properties, composed of:

Australia (Chairman), France, United States of America, Canada, (observer) and IUCN.

3 COM VII.19 Draft agreement between the World Heritage Committee and States receving technical co-operation

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

After examining the document before it, the Committee approved, as recommended by the Bureau, the revised draft text as prepared by the Secretariat. Furthermore, it decided to delegate authority to the Chairman to sign such agreements on its behalf. However, in exceptional cases or where necessary for practical reasons, the Committee authorized the Chairman to delegate authority for this purpose to a member of the Secretariat, to be designated by him.

3 COM VIII.20 Procedure for the eventual deletion from the World Heritage List of properties in case of deterioration leading to the loss of the characteristic which determined their inclusion (Document CC-79/CONF.003/10)

wh-support@unesco.org — Mon, 22 Oct 1979 00:00:00 EST

The document on this item which proposed a procedure with respect to the deletion of properties from the World Heritage List was introduced by Mr. Bolla who drew attention to the different stages in the proposed procedure. A wide exchange of ideas ensued, during which several participants expressed the hope that the State Party on whose territory the property was located would inform the Secretariat of the Committee if any property inscribed on the List had seriously deteriorated and others drew attention to the obligation contracted by the States Parties under the Convention to properly preserve the properties entered on the List.