Decision 41 COM 7A.44

Ancient City of Aleppo (Syrian Arab Republic) (C 21)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7A.Add,
2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7A.12 39 COM 7A.36 and 40 COM 7A.17 adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016) sessions respectively,
3. Taking into account Decision 41 COM 7A.50 on the World Heritage properties of the Syrian Arab Republic,
4. Expresses its great concern at the impact of the armed conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis and irreversible destruction within the property, including of whole neighborhoods;
5. Recalls its request that humanitarian and security actions be done in coordination with cultural heritage stakeholders, to avoid further irreversible damages to the property, and allow for undertaking of first aid measures on its cultural heritage;
6. Also expresses its deep concern about the instability of buildings within the property and urges the State Party to undertake a detailed risk assessment and emergency consolidation works for the concerned structures in order to guarantee the safety of the inhabitants;
7. Notes the efforts mobilized by the State Party for the recovery of Aleppo since December 2016 and encourages the State Party to continue its efforts in documenting and assessing damages, despite the extremely difficult situation;
8. Encourages the State Party to implement the actions agreed upon at the technical coordination meeting organized by UNESCO in March 2017, and also urges the State Party to allow sufficient time for the development of integrated strategic plans for the rehabilitation and revitalization of the property in its broader urban context, in line with the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (UNESCO, 2011) and in this regard, underlines the need for UNESCO to ensure its coordinating role;
9. Further expresses its concern that rehabilitation and restoration works are taking place within the property without quality control and recalls to the State Party that before any works are undertaken at the property, detailed studies and extensive field work are required, and also discussions on defining optimal approaches including considerations that go beyond technical issues, and requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, for consideration by the Advisory Bodies, any planned projects within and around the property, prior to their implementation, in accordance with Article 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
10. Calls on all UNESCO Member States to support emergency safeguarding measures, including through the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund;
11. Takes note of the State Party’s invitation of a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/ICCROM Reactive Monitoring mission to proceed to a comprehensive assessment of the state of conservation of the property and identify measures needed to reverse the decay and ensure the conservation and protection of the property, as soon as the security situation allows;
12. Notes with satisfaction that the State Party is preparing minor boundary modification proposal for the property, and also encourages it to submit the proposal by 1 February 2018, for review by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018;
13. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, 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 42nd session in 2018;
14. Decides to retain the Ancient City of Aleppo (Syrian Arab Republic) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.