World heritage meeting highlights damages to sites in conflict zones

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee on Tuesday highlighted the damages done to heritage sites in conflict zones, pledging to take more protective measures.

The members of the committee, during its third day meeting in Istanbul, examined the state of conservation of the properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Special focus was given to Syria's six world heritage properties, including the ancient cities of Damascus, Bosra, Aleppo and Palmyra.

The advisory body for Syria told the committee that the cultural sites in the country have been damaged or destructed during the five-year war and by the Islamic State group.

Shelling, street fighting, targeted explosions, extensive illegal excavations, the use of archaeological sites for military purposes and construction violations have all contributed to the destruction of heritage sites in Syria, said the advisory body.

In response, the committee decided to adopt a more integrated approach in efforts to protect the heritage across the country, including strengthened cooperation with the NGOs and civil groups working in the field.

The panel also agreed to work on a detailed road map that will determine the steps to be taken for the post-conflict reconstruction of the damaged sites.

"Our mission in Syria last year was one of our most difficult missions," Mechtild Rossler, director of the World Heritage Center, said at the committee meeting.

"We have conducted our work in the country under extreme security measures, but I am not sure anymore whether we would be able to send our teams to the field again," she added.

According to the reports presented at the meeting, the conditions of heritage sites in other African and Arab states have been worsening each day as well due to armed conflicts and political instability.

The advisory bodies for Iraq, Libya and Yemen noted that "the humanitarian conditions are increasingly and overwhelmingly degraded" while the properties there have been mostly damaged.

In Iraq, the situation has dramatically deteriorated since 2014 with the rise of armed extremist groups, the spokesperson for the Iraqi mission said.

"The cultural heritage has been the target of intentional destruction at a staggering scale," he added.

The report on Libya noted that rising insecurity in the country placed the archaeological sites of Sabratha, Cyrene and Leptis Magna at a high-level risk.

Likewise, Yemen continues to suffer significant political and socio-economic disturbances that ultimately affect heritage preservation, according to the report on the country.

The World Heritage Center decided to step up its operational response and reactivity, and ensure proper implementation and follow-up of all emergency measures identified for Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.

The center, meanwhile, highlighted its lack of adequate human resources and funding as the major reasons behind slow progress.

At its 11-day session in Istanbul, the World Heritage Committee under the UN cultural agency UNESCO will also review the nominations of 27 new sites to the prestigious World Heritage List.

Some 2,500 people from around the world are participating in the annual session of the committee, which was formed in 1977 to enforce the World Heritage Convention and manage the heritage list created based on the convention. Endit