Decision 41 COM 7B.44

Historical Monuments of Mtskheta (Georgia) (C 708)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7A.17, 39 COM 7A.41 and 40 COM 7A.29, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions respectively,
3. Welcomes the progress made by the State Party with the implementation of the recommendations, notably improvements to the Urban Land-Use Master Plan (ULUMP);
4. Also welcomes the progress made by State Party in establishing a Temporary Working Group for Urban Planning and Steering Committee;
5. Takes note of the tripartite agreement signed between the State Party and UNESCO, and the World Bank (Georgia/UNESCO Agreement,) to provide technical assistance in the elaboration of the Urban Master Plan of the City of Mtskheta;
6. Encourages the State Party to develop a detailed operational workplan and procedures for the revision and finalisation of the ULUMP and development of the Master Plan, as well as ensuring stakeholder involvement and proceed with the finalisation and implementation of the ULUMP and Master Plan, as a matter of priority;
7. Encourages the State Party to implement the recommendations and advice of the technical assistance reports provided in the framework of the Georgia/UNESCO Agreement;
8. Requests the State Party to ensure that, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, any projects which may be proposed in the future in the immediate and wider setting of the World Heritage property be submitted to the World Heritage Centre as soon as possible, before any tender is launched or decision taken to implement projects;
9. Recommends that the State Party reviews the projects, such as the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP) sectional replacement, the rehabilitation of the fragment of the Western Wall of the Defense Wall at Svetitskhoveli Church and the Mtskheta Archaeological Museum collection conservation and new building finalisation, according to the recommendations provided;
10. Takes note with satisfaction that the State Party has submitted the proposal for a minor boundary modification of the unified buffer zone;
11. Also takes note that the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission has been invited by the State Party and also requests that it be undertaken before 31 December 2017;
12. 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.