Download File
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
World Heritage 33 COM Distribution Limited WHC-09/33.COM Original: English/French UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE World Heritage Committee Thirty-third Session Sevilla, Spain 22– 30 June 2009 SUMMARY RECORD RESUME DES INTERVENTIONS 1 Monday, 22 June 2009 OPENING CEREMONY 6.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Chairperson: H. E. Ms. María Jesús San Segundo ITEM 1 OPENING OF THE SESSION Document: WHC-09/33.COM/INF.1 The 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee was opened on Monday, 22 June 2009 at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre (FIBES) in Seville, Spain, by H.E. Ms. María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO. The 21 Members of the World Heritage Committee were present: Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia and the United States of America. The following 97 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, which are not members of the Committee, were represented as Observers: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Congo (the Democratic Republic of), Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See (Vatican City State), Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the former Yugoslav Republic of), Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania (United Republic of), Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. Representatives of the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee, namely the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) also attended the session. 2 H.Exc. Ms. Ángeles González-Sinde Reig, Spain’s Minister of Culture, welcomed the participants, and stressed the importance of uniting efforts to preserve humanity’s shared heritage, as neglect and vandalism remained a threat. Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, took stock of developments in UNESCO’s World Heritage work, from the beginning of his chairmanship of the World Heritage Committee in 1998 (Kyoto, Japan) and over the course of his subsequent 10 years as head of UNESCO. Mr. Matsuura highlighted some of the challenges currently facing the World Heritage Convention, such as the need to ensure that all States Parties (soon to number 187) be represented on the List, the need to improve imbalances in both geographical diversity and between the number of cultural and natural sites, as the former greatly exceeds the latter. Mr. Matsuura emphasized regional capacity-building and alternative financing mechanisms as ways to support the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. The UNESCO Category 2 Centres dedicated to World Heritage and the African World Heritage Fund, as well as the nascent Pacific World Heritage Fund, were cited as good examples. Private companies and foundations have also played an increasingly important role, and Mr. Matsuura paid warm tribute to the United Nations Foundation for its support of UNESCO’s work in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other highly biodiverse sites around the world, as well as its more recent role as a key partner of the World Heritage sustainable tourism programme. UNESCO had established a comprehensive set of legal tools for protecting all aspects of humanity’s cultural diversity, building on the mutually reinforcing and/or complementary Conventions of 1972, 2003 and 2005 on World Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The challenge now was to establish harmonious working relationships between all these components. He thanked Spain for its support of World Heritage through the Spanish Funds in Trust, which aim to enhance the implementation of the Convention in Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Africa, the Arab States and in the Pacific Region. Mr. Antonio Griñán, President of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, emphasized Andalusia’s cultural richness. He mentioned progress made in the region towards achieving objectives related to the preservation of heritage. He noted that protective measures, such as the approval of the Historic Heritage Law, which includes the protection of intangible, landscape and sub-aquatic heritage (as well as the protection of 56 sub-aquatic archaeological settings), were now being implemented. He noted the importance of the catalytic relationship between culture and economy, which creates job opportunities, but also pointed to the importance of sustainable measures in order to avoid the negative impacts of excessive tourism or urban development. Mr. Sánchez Monteserín, Mayor of Seville, highlighted the beauty of the city whose residents have been able to create and consolidate a city with a unique heritage. He mentioned several projects that had been implemented by the municipality, most of which were oriented towards the recuperation of urban spaces and the introduction of non-polluting transportation systems. Finally, he mentioned the mestizo racial tradition of the city, and how this was reflected in its culture, architecture and heritage. Mr. George N. Anastassopoulos, President of UNESCO’s General Conference, highlighted one of the major governance questions that the Committee should, in his view, be addressing in the next couple of years: the development of a truly equitable and 3 representative List of World Heritage sites that could be efficiently monitored and preserved. Mr. Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yaï, Chairman of the Organization’s Executive Board, also stressed the importance of the Global Strategy, and recalled the important role that communities play in the preservation and management of World Heritage Sites. The Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, H.E. Ms. María Jesús San Segundo, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, outlined the achievements of the 1972 World Heritage Convention on the eve of its 40th anniversary and its quasi-universal ratification. She mentioned the importance of the 60th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration and the 1972 Convention. The Chairperson highlighted the significant decisions that the World Heritage Committee would be taking during this session. She recognized the work of the people responsible for heritage preservation and mentioned climate change, tourism and urban expansion as some of its challenges. Finally, she mentioned that 2009 was an important year for science, with the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. The 39 participants of the First Ibero-American World Heritage Youth Forum, held from 15-21 June in Seville, presented their work and conclusions, in particular the communications campaign they had carried out. A video prepared by the young people during the Forum was projected, featuring their visits to several Spanish World Heritage Sites and the workshops they had conducted on the subject of World Heritage. The presentation ended with the première of the animated film "Patrimonito in Spain: Old City of Avila", the 8th episode of the “Patrimonito’s World Heritage Adventures” cartoon series. 4 FIRST DAY – TUESDAY, 23 JUNE 2009 FIRST MEETING 10.00 a.m. –2 p.m. Chairperson : H. E. Ms. María Jesús San Segundo ITEM 2 REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS Document: WHC-09/33.COM.2 Decision: 33 COM 2 The Chairperson welcomed the Committee to Seville and thanked the Ministry of Culture of Spain, the Regional Government of Andalusia and the Mayor of Seville for their warm welcome. Discussion on Item 2 (Observer requests) was opened. The Secretariat pointed out that the document included Draft Decision 33 COM 2. The Chairperson reminded the Committee that interpretation was in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Those Committee Members speaking in Spanish or Arabic needed to indicate their preference for having their records in English or French. The Secretariat informed the Committee that, upon taking the floor for the first time, Members should indicate whether their interventions were to be recorded in English or French. The Chairperson pointed out that Committee Members had three minutes maximum, and Observers two minutes, for their interventions. Item 2 was then opened for discussion. The Delegation of Kenya informed the meeting that its choice would be English. It thanked the Chairperson, the Spanish Government and the Government of Andalusia for their hospitality. It supported the Draft Decision to amend Rule 8.3. The Secretariat explained why the present system, which accepted