Decision 45 COM 7A.54

Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz (Uzbekistan) (C 885)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 40 COM 7B.48, 41 COM 7A.57, 42 COM 7A.4 and 44 COM 7A.31 adopted at its 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016), 41st (Krakow, 2017), 42nd (Manama, 2018) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively, and also recalling Decision 43 COM 7A.44 adopted at its 43rd (Baku, 2019) session, in which the Committee decided “to allow the State Party two years to explore possible options for a significant boundary modification or a new nomination, and at the end of this period, to consider once again whether the property should be retained on the World Heritage List for a further period to allow time, if by then a clear direction of travel has been articulated, or to delete the property altogether”, and that in exploring options, the State Party “should undertake further research and documentation and develop a restoration plan, in order to provide sufficient details to allow assessment of the potential for each option to justify [Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)], before any work is undertaken on a significant boundary modification in compliance with Paragraphs 165 and 166 of the Operational Guidelines or on a new nomination”, and further encouraged the State Party to “request upstream support in relation to the potential for a significant boundary modification or a new nomination to justify OUV”,
3. Notes the progress made by the State Party, in particular with comprehensive research supported by scientific documentation, analysis of historical sources, archival documents and satellite images as well as participatory research with the inhabitants of the mahallahs, acknowledges that the State Party has considered the two options suggested in Decision 43 COM 7A.44;
4. Also notes the State Party’s wish to explore an alternative option, as presented in the “Restoration Plan of Shakhrisyabz, Proposal for a Regeneration Strategy”, which aims to restore the monuments and their settings, re-landscape the central area where major demolition was undertaken to recreate urban spatial links and introduce aspects of Timurid garden design, and slightly extend the boundaries to include the whole line of defences;
5. Further notes that the proposed option as presented by the abovementioned “Restoration Plan of Shakhrisyabz” is not for a new nomination nor a significant boundary modification but rather for a minor boundary modification in line with the existing OUV, based on the assumption that OUV, including its authenticity and integrity, will be recovered if the option is successfully implemented;
6. Recalls that, in its previous decisions, the Committee noted that the demolitions within the city centre have permanently altered the relationship between the mahallas and between the monuments and the overall city structure, and considers that, on the basis of what has been submitted, such an approach cannot be said to deliver the integrity of an intact city, intact urban fabric, nor can it return the historic centre to its previous appearance, nor restore key aspects of Timurid planning, nor fully recover the attributes of OUV for which the property was inscribed;
7. Also recalls Decision 43 COM 7A.44 and the need to decide whether the property should be retained on the World Heritage List for a further period to allow time to explore an agreed, clear way forward or whether the property should be deleted from the World Heritage List, and also considers that the proposal submitted by the State Party deserves to be explored further and that the property should be retained on the World Heritage List at this stage;
8. Encourages the State Party to explore the submission of a significant boundary modification, in line with Paragraph 166 of the Operational Guidelines, to set out a new justification for criteria based on an OUV that would reflect a shift away from the integrity of an overall intact city and towards an ensemble of Timurid monuments, with the urban areas seen as their essential settings, but notes that, while such an approach would appear to be worth pursuing, it cannot be affirmed with certainty at this stage that such a proposed OUV could be justified;
9. Strongly recommends that the State Party engage in a specific consultation with the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS on procedural questions related to any submission;
10. Welcomes the detailed and thorough historical research and analytical work undertaken and further considers that this should provide a sound basis to define protection and management requirements for the property;
11. Urges the State Party to take the necessary time to define substantive proposals for the renovation of the monuments in the context of the development of detailed Conservation and Management Plans integrated with an overall Master Plan for the city in line with the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), which should encompass urban planning regulations and architectural and urban design guidelines and take into account the comprehensive analysis of cultural legislations in Uzbekistan conducted with the support of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust;
12. Encourages the State Party to submit full details of urgent conservation projects, as well as the strategy for the conservation of the Ak Saray tiles, to the World Heritage Centre for review by the Advisory Bodies before any work commences;
13. Also welcomes the creation of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) for cultural World Heritage properties in Uzbekistan and the organisation of its first technical session in July 2022, and emphasizes that such a mechanism with the support of its experts should advise the national authorities on the conservation of the cultural heritage properties and implementation of Committee decisions and previous mission recommendations;
14. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2024, 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 46th session;
15. Decides to retain Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz (Uzbekistan) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.