At the conclusion of Monday’s UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee session in Saudi Arabia, 42 new sites were inscribed and another 5 were extended. 263 sites were also examined with regard to the state of their conservation. Representatives from 195 state parties and nearly 300 civil organizations were present.
The world’s grand total of World Heritage sites sits at 1199.
Africa notably reached the milestone of its 100th site on the World Heritage List. Rwanda also had its first two inscriptions, including Nyungwe National Park and the genocide memorial sites at Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi, and Bisesero.
The Rwandan genocide memorials were inscribed as a Site of Memory, a location meant to serve as a memorial. Two other Sites of Memory were also inscribed: Argentina’s “ESMA Museum and Place of Memory – Former Clandestine Detention, Torture and Extermination Centre” and Belgium and France’s “Funeral and Memorial Sites of the Western Front in the First World War”.
Two Ukrainian sites were put on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the ongoing conflict with Russia: “Saint Sophia’s Cathedral and complex of monastic and Lavra buildings in Kyiv-Pechersk” and “the ensemble of the historic centre in Lviv.”
In addition, the Committee moved forward on the Dive into Heritage Tool, which could allow the online exploration of sites. They also awarded six World Heritage Properties in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, the Marshall Islands and Sri Lanka international funding totaling around $336,000 to support conservation.
