Decision 40 COM 7A.23

Historic Town of Zabid (Yemen) (C 611)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/16/40.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7A.13, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014) and 39 COM 7A.37 adopted at its 39th Session (Bonn, 2015),
3. Expresses its concern at the recent damage caused to the cultural heritage of Yemen as a result of escalating armed conflict, and that the Historic City of Zabid continues to be subject to significant threats from the ongoing lack of organisational support and material resources for physical conservation projects;
4. Acknowledges the efforts of the General Organization for the Preservation of Historic Cities in Yemen (GOPHCY), other national entities, the local authorities, and the community of Zabid to protect and conserve the property despite the very difficult conditions in the city;
5. Notes with regret that, owing to the security situation in Yemen, it has not been possible to progress with the draft ‘National Strategy for the Preservation of the Historic Cities, Sites and Monuments 2016 – 2020’ nor to prepare a complementary Action Plan and requests the State Party to ensure that the Action Plan, when prepared, should address the current situation and include provisions for conservation of damaged buildings, local community awareness, and should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Welcomes the continuing support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) for Yemeni cultural heritage;
7. Calls on the international community to provide financial support for the implementation of the Emergency Action Plan for the Safeguarding of Yemen’s cultural heritage, adopted at the UNESCO Expert meeting in July 2015;
8. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, once the security situation has improved, to assess current conditions at the property, to consider progress with the corrective measures and to advise on the proposed Action Plan;
9. Reiterates its request to the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre with details of the buffer zone and other technical requirements as requested and to submit a minor boundary modification proposal by 1 February 2017, for review by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session in 2017;
10. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2017, 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 41st session in 2017;
11. Decides to retain Historic Town of Zabid (Yemen) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.