Decision 42 COM 7A.2

Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam (Afghanistan) (C 211 rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7A.55, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Notes that the Conservation Action Plan (CAP) was finalized as an outcome of the Emergency International Assistance granted under the World Heritage Fund and submitted to the World Heritage Centre in February 2018 and urges the State Party to start implementing the short- and medium-term actions specified by this CAP and to secure the necessary financial and human resources;
4. Also notes that the first field visit to the property in three years was conducted in September 2017, with support from the Heritage Emergency Fund, and will provide detailed scientific data to further inform the implementation of the CAP;
5. Further notes the capacity-building workshop conducted in Germany in April 2017 to reinforce the scientific and technical skills of national engineers in view of the upcoming conservation activities in and around the property;
6. Regrets that the boundaries of the World Heritage property and its buffer zone remain to be precisely defined and, recalling that a topographical map was realized for this purpose as part of a UNESCO/Italy Funds-in-Trust project in 2012, also urges the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2019, a proposal for a minor boundary modification, in conformity with the CAP and in accordance with Paragraphs 163-164 of the Operational Guidelines, for review by ICOMOS;
7. Further urges the State Party to address the following three critical issues:
   1. The installation of a monitoring instrument on the Minaret of Jam to measure its inclination,
   2. The emergency stabilization work for the wooden staircases, in order to prevent further destabilization of the Minaret’s structure,
   3. The construction of a footbridge over the Hari Rud River and a guesthouse at the property, in order to improve access to the property and site security;
8. Encourages the State Party to capitalize on the capacity-building activities made possible via international cooperation mechanisms in order to further develop and strengthen the theoretical and technical knowledge and capacities of national heritage experts and encourage their participation in the training activities provided;
9. Calls upon the international community to provide technical and financial support, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, for the implementation of above-mentioned CAP, which will be part of a strategy to implement the corrective measures adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007);
10. Also requests the State Party to revise the timeframe for the implementation of the corrective measures and to submit it to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2019, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
11. Further 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 Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam (Afghanistan) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.