Decision 43 COM 7B.43

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (Egypt) (C 87)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 37 COM 7B.48, 39 COM 7B.49 and 41 COM 7B.76, adopted at its 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
3. Notes the establishment of the Supreme Committee of the Management of World Heritage sites and welcomes the submission of a revised Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for the property, as well as the training initiatives and the efforts for the conservation of the modern heritage of Hassan Fathi;
4. Regrets that the State Party has not reported on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2017 Reactive Monitoring mission, and urges the State Party to implement and report on all of the mission recommendations as a matter of urgency;
5. Also regrets that the State Party has not fully complied with other requests expressed by the Committee in its previous Decisions and considers that the continuing absence of the Management Plan, the growing number of development projects at the property, and pressures of tourism are exerting a growing impact on its OUV, and therefore also urges the State Party once again to expedite the preparation of the Management Plan, incorporating a Conservation Plan and a comprehensive Tourism Management Plan, and further urges the State Party to revise the 2030 Masterplan for the property to integrate conservation of OUV across all projects within the property;
6. Also requests the State Party to provide, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines documentation and, where appropriate, Heritage Impact Assessments (HIAs) to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies prior to project approval and implementation, particularly with regard to the following:
   1. Comprehensive documentation on the lighting and security cameras project, with details regarding its implementation,
   2. A report on the underground water project design and implementation,
   3. A report on the flood channelling and Flood Emergency Plan established for the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens,
   4. A report on archaeological excavation and restoration works at the Avenue of Sphinxes,
   5. Details of restoration and rehabilitation works at the Temple of the Apt, the Temple of Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and the Temple of Seti I,
   6. Details of proposed works to facilitate disability access at Karnak,
   7. Details of any other infrastructure, development or conservation projects proposed within property or its buffer zone prior to making any irreversible decisions or commencing works;
7. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, 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 45th session in 2021.