Decision 46 COM 7A.12

Timbuktu (Mali) (C 119rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 45 COM 7A.23 adopted at its extended 45th session (Riyadh, 2023),
3. Welcomes the continuation of conservation measures, in particular the emphasis placed on participatory management and awareness-raising, carried out in partnership with traditional stakeholders such as mosque management committees, the masons' guild and civil society, and mobilisation efforts aimed in particular at the creation of management committees for each cemetery housing mausoleums of saints with a view to supporting rehabilitation and maintenance work;
4. Notes with satisfaction the commitment made by the State Party with regard to the tree-planting works on the property to counter silting through a selected company, but in order to remedy the silting up of the Niger River which leads to the silting up of the mosques, reiterates its request to the State Party to broaden the scope of this initiative through strategic actions adapted at a regional level;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to create plantations with a view to ensuring a sustainable supply of appropriate construction timber, particularly in the context of the significant impacts of climate change;
6. Welcomes the rehabilitation and regular maintenance work carried out on the property, in particular the recent rough plastering of the Djingareyber Mosque including the repair of the façades, ensuring that traditional building techniques and know-how are maintained, as well as the selection of compatible materials respecting authenticity, and strongly encourages the State Party to further document this work in order to better promote the intangible dimension of this heritage and to encourage the preservation of the authenticity of the property through the transmission of this knowledge as well as its cultural and customary functions and meanings;
7. Welcomes the State Party's efforts to raise funds for the updating of the property's conservation and management plan, following the expiry of the previous plan in 2022, and requests the State Party to submit the draft updated management plan to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies;
8. Notes with concern the persistent lack of technical and financial resources of the Cultural Mission and traditional actors, which may compromise the conservation and management of the site, as well as the even more precarious security situation since the withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and requests the State Party to pay particular attention to strengthening the human and financial resources necessary for the proper functioning of its Cultural Missions;
9. Expresses its appreciation of the progress made in establishing the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR), and requests that it be submitted for adoption at its next session in 2025;
10. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2025, 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 47th session;
11. Decides to continue the application of the Reinforced Monitoring Mechanism for the property;
12. Decides to retain Timbuktu (Mali) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.