Decision 44 COM 5C

Progress report on Priority Africa, Sustainable Development and World Heritage

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/5C,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 5D adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019) and Resolution 20 GA 13 adopted by the General Assembly at its 20th session (UNESCO, 2015),
3. Notes with appreciation the continued efforts of the African States Parties, with the support of partners under UNESCO’s Global Priority Africa, for the conservation and management of the unique biodiversity and rich cultural heritage of Africa that must be transmitted to future generations, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063;
4. Welcomes the activities of the World Heritage Centre along with UNESCO Field Offices, Advisory Bodies, the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) and other partners in raising awareness, building capacities around World Heritage and Sustainable Development Policy in Africa, and developing innovative tools, including the drafts of the World Heritage Sustainable Development Preliminary Health-Check and the World Heritage Project Sustainability Check to assess the sustainability status of World Heritage properties and conduct preliminary assessments on sustainable development impacts of proposed projects, and requests that the refinement and implementation of these tools and the World Heritage Canopy platform of innovative and good practices be pursued and their implementation supported for the African context as funds permit;
5. Also welcomes the World Heritage Centre’s analysis of the synergies and alignments of the World Heritage Sustainable Development Policy with other major international agreements on Sustainable Development, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and reiterates the need to integrate the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of World Heritage properties with inclusive sustainable development to meet the socio-economic needs of local communities, through the effective implementation of the World Heritage Sustainable Development Policy and its supporting tools, including mitigation and adaptation strategies to address climate change;
6. Encourages the African States Parties to strengthen the governance of World Heritage properties, engage local communities in decision-making processes and also enhance their knowledge and skills for further inclusive and equitable growth in line with the World Heritage Sustainable Development Policy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the African Union Agenda 2063 - The Africa We Want;
7. Invites African States Parties to mainstream heritage conservation in national and local development planning to integrate their conservation management efforts with sustainable development efforts in and around World Heritage properties and to implement the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators with a view to measuring and enhancing the role of heritage in sustainable development;
8. Thanks the States Parties and partners who have generously contributed to strengthening sustainable development in Africa and also invites all States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to support, both financially and through other means, the mainstreaming and awareness-raising of the World Heritage Sustainable Development Policy for integrating protection, conservation and management activities in Africa into sustainable development policies and actions as well as for the development and implementation of tools, innovative and good practices and strategies towards this end;
9. Further invites the African State Parties, with the guidance and coordination of the Secretariat and the Advisory Bodies, and in collaboration with the AWHF, ARC-WH and other stakeholders, to implement actions and measures for sustainable development that conserve and protect the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage properties, both cultural and natural, and that benefit local communities in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063 and also in favour of climate action;
10. Requests the World Heritage Centre to present at its 46th session a progress report on Priority Africa, sustainable development and World Heritage in line with the Medium-Term Strategy 2022-2029 and Programme and Budget for 2022-2025.