Decision 45 COM 7A.22

Old Towns of Djenné (Mali) (C 116rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7A,
2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7A.1 adopted at its 44th extended session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
3. Appreciates the efforts made by the State Party to maintain constant management and conservation of the property, as well as the mobilization and responsiveness of the local communities, both for the protection of the archaeological sites and for the ancient fabric of the town;
4. Also appreciates the measures taken at the four archaeological sites for their protection, monitoring and security against looting or illegal occupation, but requests the State Party to resolve the persistent problem of insufficient technical and financial means of the Cultural Mission of Djenné for the overall management and conservation needs of the property;
5. Notes that the management and conservation plan of the property expired in 2022, and requests the State Party to submit the updated draft management plan to the World Heritage Centre for examination by the Advisory Bodies;
6. Expresses its concern about the various observations made regarding the ancient fabric of the town, such as the lack of space, the use of houses for animal husbandry, the sealing of banco houses with cement and the collapse of abandoned houses, the disorderly use of unauthorized signs and the construction of solid houses, but welcomes the fact that the town of Djenné has mobilized its own funding to rehabilitate several monumental houses, promoting traditional and customary conservation mechanisms, and encourages the State Party to continue to raise awareness among all actors to maintain this momentum;
7. Welcomes the continued work on the inventory of houses, with particular emphasis on abandoned houses, notes that the purpose of the inventory was to inform conservation and repair, and requests the State Party to submit a sample of the inventory and identify its scope;
8. Encourages the State Party to ensure that the rehabilitation and conservation work of the houses is recorded and documented, in particular with regard to the use of traditional methods and materials, as part of the authenticity of the property;
9. Takes note that a guide for the maintenance of the houses will be drafted, that decorative modifications with ‘modern’ materials are forbidden, and that housing lots and social housing have been distributed to the most vulnerable;
10. Requests the State Party, in order to better appreciate in more detail all the information provided in its reports, to include, in future, more illustrations with photographs and other materials, especially as a reactive monitoring mission has still not been able to visit the property to assess its state of conservation and the progress made in the implementation of corrective measures;
11. Expresses its appreciation that a programme of capacity building and remote and field assistance, supported by the World Heritage Fund, for the development of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) for each of the three Malian properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, is being finalized;
12. 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;
13. Decides to retain Old Towns of Djenné (Mali) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.