Decision 44 COM 7A.23

Site of Palmyra (Syrian Arab Republic) (C 23bis)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 43 COM 7A.36 and 43 COM 7A.37, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Taking into account Decision 44 COM 7A.24, on the World Heritage properties of the Syrian Arab Republic,
4. Expresses its concern that extensive illegal excavation took place at the site and calls upon the international community to collaborate for the sharing of inventories and documentation that could facilitate the return of looted objects;
5. Also expresses its concern that monuments at the property remain at serious risk of further collapse owing to lack of funding for emergency interventions including consolidation works;
6. Takes notes of the technical meeting, organized by the World Heritage Centre in December 2019, which elaborated a set of recommendations on optimal approaches for the recovery of the site with the international community of experts, and in particular highlighting the necessity to:
   1. Urgently undertake emergency interventions at damaged monuments,
   2. Carry out detailed assessment of damaged structures as well as of the property as a whole,
   3. Make utmost use of modern technologies and digitized inventories for the benefit of scientific studies and documentation,
   4. Refrain from reconstructing any monument in the immediate future, with the exception of the rehabilitation of the Site Museum that should be planned within a holistic approach that takes into consideration the interpretation of all values associated with the site,
   5. Instigate the preparation of an integrated conservation management plan through a comprehensive participatory value-based approach, to include policies, strategies and actions to ensure the sustainable conservation of the property, also taking into consideration the oasis setting,
   6. Continue to encourage, by all means, the return of local communities,
   7. Support the creation of an International Scientific Task Force for the recovery of the property;
7. Expresses its appreciation to the Russian Federation for organizing the conference on the recovery of Palmyra at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg;
8. Requests the State Party to implement the above-mentioned recommendations of the UNESCO technical meeting, and the recommendations of the 2016 UNESCO Technical Assistance Workshop, in particular concerning the emergency consolidation measures, and to seek funding to support these activities;
9. Reiterates its request to the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for review by ICOMOS, information on any proposed reconstruction or restoration projects within the property, including the proposed restoration of the Triumphal Arch, in conformity with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse;
10. Calls again on all States Parties to support emergency safeguarding and recovery measures, including through the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund;
11. Reiterates the need for the invited joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to be carried out as soon as the situation allows, in order to proceed with a comprehensive assessment of the state of conservation of the property and the elaboration of a set of corrective measures and a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), for examination by the Committee at its 45th session;
12. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2022, 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;
13. Decides to retain the Site of Palmyra (Syrian Arab Republic) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.