Decision 46 COM 7A.19

Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli (Lebanon) (C 1702)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/24/46.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decisions 18 EXT.COM 5.1 and 45 COM 8C.2 adopted at its 18th extraordinary (UNESCO, 2023) and its extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions respectively,
3. Regrets that the State Party did not submit a report on the state of conservation of the property, as requested by the Committee at its extended 18th extraordinary session, and however notes that some information was gathered during an online meeting with the State Party;
4. Welcomes the holding of a capacity building workshop on impact assessments in a World Heritage Context, to be organized by UNESCO in collaboration with ICOMOS and ICCROM;
5. Notes that the Conservation Management Plan for the property has been prepared and submitted, and includes a management framework, conservation policies and recommendations for future planning;
6. Requests the State Party to:
   1. Provide the exact geographical coordinates of the boundaries of the property,
   2. Develop detailed land-use and zoning guidelines for the planning of the immediate setting of the Rachid Karimi International Fair-Tripoli and of the portion of the oval within the property outside the nationally relevant “core zone”,
   3. Set up a management structure for the property that also includes among its members representatives of the cultural heritage protection institutions, professionals and academic organisations and the civil society,
   4. Carry out a geometric and architectural survey and a detailed condition assessment of Niemeyer’s structures as a knowledge basis for emergency stabilisation measures, conservation and structural rehabilitation interventions,
   5. Consider a digital project of the documentation preserved at the various publicly accessible archives, to promote research and ensure that the original project documentation is not lost due to disasters or accidents,
   6. Inform the World Heritage Centre of the intention to undertake or authorise any major projects, which may affect the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, in line with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines,
   7. Develop and implement a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for any project proposals that may have an impact on the OUV of the property (including the “Knowledge and Innovation Centre” project) and for the revision of the master plans of El-Mina and Tripoli;
7. Also requests the State Party to structurally embed HIA mechanisms into its planning processes to guarantee that planning provisions are consistent with the protection of the property’s OUV;
8. Notes with appreciation the invitation from the State Party for the requested joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, and also notes that the mission will also serve to provide advice on the delineation of the buffer zone for the property and on the development of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and related corrective measures;
9. Finally 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;
10. Decides to retain Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli (Lebanon) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.