Decision 29 COM 7B.58

Complex of Hué Monuments (Viet Nam)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/7B.Rev,

2. Recalling its Decision 28 COM 15B.61 adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),

3. Having taken note of the socio-economic reasons that justified the upgrading of the road infrastructure around the Citadel of Hué,

4. Congratulates the State Party of Vietnam for its efforts to mitigate the negative impact of these roads on the heritage values of the property and to deal with the serious issue of the illegal constructions encroaching upon the property;

5. Notes, on the other hand, the intention expressed by the Vietnamese authorities to extend the World Heritage property to include certain monuments such as the An Dinh Residence (Last Queen Mother's residence), Memorial House of Queen Mother Tu Cung and Van Van Tomb (Last Great Queen Mother's tomb);

6. Requests the State Party to:

a) follow-up and implement as soon as possible the actions envisaged for the demolition or modification of the illegal buildings constructed within the World Heritage property;

b) proceed to the compilation of a complete inventory of the traditional urban buildings of Hué;

c) elaborate, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre, a comprehensive management plan for the property, built upon its outstanding universal value and in line with the principles set out in the Operational Guidelines (2005) (paragraphs 96-119). This management plan should concern all monuments and landscape areas considered as having a significant heritage value associated to Hué and which are currently not included in the property inscribed on the World Heritage List, in view of a possible re-nomination of the property;