Decision 44 COM 7B.31

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

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decision 43 COM 7B.67, adopted at its 43rd session (Baku, 2019),
3. Acknowledges the progress accomplished with research and technical work on the Mausoleum, notes that structural movement and humidity levels need to be continuously monitored to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented measures, and encourages the State Party to continue its work in this regard, to ensure the sound conservation of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), including historic monuments in the buffer zone, and to establish a formal visitor management plan for the property and its surroundings to address the important increase in visitor numbers;
4. Welcomes the creation of a special advisory “Scientific-Methodological Council” in September 2019;
5. Commends the State Party’s efforts towards public engagement, and also encourages continued actions in this regard, notably the development of a holistic interpretation strategy for the property and the Archaeological Park;
6. Requests the State Party to submit relevant sections of the Master Plan to the World Heritage Centre and to ensure that the Master Plan:
   1. Recognises the OUV of the property,
   2. Includes the View Axis Protection Area that prohibits any new development within the area from exceeding the 7m height limit;
7. Also welcomes the analysis of development undertaken by a group of national and international experts, also acknowledges their call for future developments to respect the OUV of the property, and that the expert group and the Scientific-Methodological Council have unanimously recommended that new projects must respect both national legislation and the requirements of the World Heritage Convention, and that no construction within the buffer zone, View Axis Protection Area and the Turkestan Spiritual and Cultural Center should be undertaken without notification to the World Heritage Centre and a Heritage Impact Assessment following paragraphs 118bis and 172 of the Operational Guidelines, and urges the State Party to address these recommendations;
8. Further welcomes the submission of an updated Management Plan by the State Party and, as the Plan focuses mainly on the Mausoleum and does not address the buffer zone or wider setting, further encourages the State Party to augment the Plan by extending its scope and including principles and operationalization measures for future development, as well as a clear articulation of the attributes of OUV that need to be protected and managed;
9. Finally 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.