Decision 43 COM 7B.67

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakhstan) (C 1103)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 7B.16, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Notes the detailed analysis and monitoring of the technical condition of the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and the planned project for retiling the domes and waterproofing the roofs, acknowledges the conservation work planned for historical structures in the buffer zone and the related Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), taking into consideration the ICOMOS Advisory Mission Report of 2018 and requests that the State Party submits a final post-execution project report for these interventions to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
4. Acknowledges the progress made by the State Party and encourages further work on improved management, capacity-building and stakeholder engagement;
5. Further acknowledges the proposal and associated HIA for the Eski Turkestan Archaeological Park, located in the buffer zone of the property and set to include walkways, presented excavations, visitor facilities and an open-air museum, following the ICOMOS 2017 Salalah Guidelines for the Management of Public Archaeological Sites, and also requests that details of further development of this project be submitted by the State Party to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Notes that, as a result of the declaration of Turkestan as capital of the Turkestan Oblast (province) and a Special Economic Zone, a new approved Master Plan for the city should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, which includes the Visual Access Protection Zone with view axes determined through analysis of evidence;
7. Also notes that the proposed Turkestan Spiritual and Cultural Centre project, located outside the buffer zone, which includes ten components, has been submitted to the World Heritage Centre with its corresponding HIAs;
8. Further notes that governance arrangements for the property must allow for the timely submission of information, regarding all developments that may impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies, and strongly encourages the State Party to arrange a capacity-building workshop in order to address this issue;
9. Urges the State Party to develop an updated Management Plan for the property and submit it to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies;
10. Requests that the State Party shall submit any further project related to the Turkestan Spiritual and Cultural Centre project to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
11. Recommends that the State Party continue to work in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS to assess all development projects to ensure the protection of the OUV of the property;
12. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2020, a report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020.