The World Heritage Committee,
1. Recalling the decision made at its 23rd session in 1999, requesting the State Party to consider inviting a mission to Comoé National Park during 2000 to review threats to the integrity of the property and plan appropriate emergency rehabilitation measures and to submit a detailed state of conservation report to enable the Committee to consider including this property in the List of World Heritage in Danger,;
2. Noting the recent report of the State Party to the World Heritage Centre, received 5 May 2003, which highlights that the situation at this property has deteriorated and is now in real danger due to civil unrest,;
3. Expresses its serious concern over
(a) the potential impacts of the current civil unrest on the integrity of the property,
(b) the decrease of large mammal populations due to increased and uncontrolled poaching, and
(c) the lack of effective management mechanisms;
4. Decides to inscribe the Comoé National Park on the List of World Heritage in Danger;
5. Welcomes the State Party's invitation for a mission, as requested by its 23rd session in 1999, and requests IUCN and the World Heritage Centre to carry out a mission as soon as the security situation permits. The aim of this mission will be to review the state of conservation of the property and to develop an emergency rehabilitation measures plan, which would include benchmarks for removing the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger. A report of the mission should be prepared in order that the World Heritage Committee can examine the state of conservation of the property at its 28th session in 2004;
6. Encourages the donor agencies such as the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and the European Union, already assisting the State Party in the management and development of Comoé, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to continue their support, and further encourages other donors to mobilize their resources in support of Côte d'Ivoire World Heritage properties.