Logo of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee

The World Heritage Committee is a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It comprises representatives from 21 state parties that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term. These parties vote on decisions and proposals related to the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage List.

According to the World Heritage Convention, a committee member's term of office is six years. However many States Parties choose to voluntarily limit their term to four years, in order to give other States Parties an opportunity to serve. All members elected at the 15th General Assembly (2005) voluntarily chose to reduce their term of office from six to four years.

Deliberations of the World Heritage Committee are aided by three advisory bodies, the IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM.

Sessions

The World Heritage Committee meets once a year for an ordinary session to discuss the management of existing World Heritage Sites, and accept nominations by countries. Extraordinary meetings can be convened at the request of two-thirds of the state members. Meetings are held within the territory of state members of the World Heritage Committee at their invitation. Rotation between regions and cultures is a consideration for selection and the location for the next session is chosen by the committee at the end of each session.

SessionYearDateHost city
1197727 June – 1 JulyFrance Paris
219785–8 SeptemberUnited States Washington, D.C.
3197922–26 OctoberEgypt Cairo & Luxor
419801–5 SeptemberFrance Paris
5198126–30 OctoberAustralia Sydney
6198213–17 DecemberFrance Paris
719835–9 DecemberItaly Florence
8198429 October – 2 NovemberArgentina Buenos Aires
919852–6 DecemberFrance Paris
10198624–28 NovemberFrance Paris
1119877–11 DecemberFrance Paris
1219885–9 DecemberBrazil Brasília
13198911–15 DecemberFrance Paris
1419907–12 DecemberCanada Banff
1519919–13 DecemberTunisia Carthage
1619927–14 DecemberUnited States Santa Fe
1719936–11 DecemberColombia Cartagena
18199412–17 DecemberThailand Phuket
1919954–9 DecemberGermany Berlin
2019962–7 DecemberMexico Mérida
2119971–6 DecemberItaly Naples
22199830 November – 5 DecemberJapan Kyoto
23199929 November – 4 DecemberMorocco Marrakesh
24200027 November – 2 DecemberAustralia Cairns
25200111–16 DecemberFinland Helsinki
26200224–29 JuneHungary Budapest
27200330 June – 5 JulyFrance Paris
28200428 June – 7 JulyChina Suzhou
29200510–17 JulySouth Africa Durban
3020068–16 JulyLithuania Vilnius
31200723 June – 1 JulyNew Zealand Christchurch
3220082–10 JulyCanada Quebec City
33200922–30 JuneSpain Seville
34201025 July – 3 AugustBrazil Brasília
35201119–29 JuneFrance Paris
36201225 June – 5 JulyRussia Saint Petersburg
37201317–27 JuneCambodia Phnom Penh
38201415–15 JuneQatar Doha
39201528 June – 8 JulyGermany Bonn
40201610–20 JulyTurkey Istanbul
4120172–12 JulyPoland Kraków
42201824 June – 4 JulyBahrain Manama
43201930 June – 10 JulyAzerbaijan Baku
442020–2116–31 July 2021China Fuzhou
452022–2310–25 September 2023Saudi Arabia Riyadh
46202421–31 JulyIndia New Delhi
4720256–16 JulyFrance Paris
48202619–29 JulySouth Korea Busan

Bureau

At the end of each ordinary session, the committee elects a chairperson, five vice-chairpersons and a Rapporteur from those members whose term will continue through the next session. These are known as the Bureau, and their representatives are responsible for coordinating the work of the World Heritage Committee, including fixing dates, hours and the order of business meetings.

Voting

Each state member of the World Heritage Committee has one vote. Decisions require a simple majority with abstentions counted as not voting. Votes are delivered by a show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by either the chairperson or two or more states members.

Members

Current members of the World Heritage Committee
Member stateDuration
Armenia2025–2029
Azerbaijan2025–2029
Bangladesh2025–2029
Czech Republic2025–2029
Grenada2025–2029
Jamaica2023–2027
Kazakhstan2023–2027
Kenya2023–2027
Kuwait2025–2029
Lebanon2023–2027
Mongolia2025–2029
Peru2025–2029
Poland2025–2029
Senegal2023–2027
South Korea2023–2027
Switzerland2025–2029
Tanzania2025–2029
Togo2025–2029
Turkey2023–2027
Ukraine2023–2027
Vietnam2023–2027
Total21

Criticism

Increasing politicization of World Heritage Committee decisions to the detriment of conservation aims has been alleged, particularly with regard to new nominations for the World Heritage List, but also with the consideration of sites for the List of World Heritage in Danger. In 2010, states parties including Hungary, Switzerland and Zimbabwe submitted an official protest against such politicization.

An external audit requested by the World Heritage Committee for its Global Strategy of the World Heritage List concluded in 2011 that political considerations were indeed influencing decisions. It observed that the composition of committee representatives had shifted from experts to diplomats in spite of World Heritage Convention Article 9 and found that opinions from advisory bodies often diverged from World Heritage Committee decisions.

In 2016, Israel recalled its UNESCO ambassador after the World Heritage Committee adopted a resolution in a secret ballot that referred to one of Jerusalem's holiest sites, the Temple Mount, only as a "Muslim holy site of worship", not mentioning that Jews and Christians venerate the site.

The committee has also been criticized with alleged racism, colorism, and geographic bias for favoring the inscription of sites in Western and industrialized countries over sites belonging to so-called "third-world" countries. A large proportion of the world heritage sites are located in Europe, Eastern Asia, and North America, where populations notably have lighter skin.

See also

External links

  • – official website (in English and French)
  • – official searchable list of all Inscribed Properties