42 new sites inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage

The 45^th session of the World Heritage Committee took place in Riyadh, from 10 to 25 September. During this time, tentative and existing World Heritage Sites were assessed by experts to determine their inscription, or, to the joy of Venice not being declared “in danger”, not inscription on certain lists.

At the end of the session, the Committee added 42 new sites, of which 33 cultural and 9 natural, on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, bringing the total to 1199 (993 cultural, 227 natural, 39 mixed) across 168 countries. The Committee also approved the extension of 5 sites already on the list and examined the state of conservation of 263 sites that were already inscribed. The new sites will now benefit from the highest level of heritage protection in the world. They will also have access to new opportunities for technical and financial assistance from UNESCO.

During this session, two Ukrainian sites were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, due to threats linked to shelling. Saint Sophia’s Cathedral and complex of monastic and Lavra buildings in Kyiv-Pechersk and the ensemble of the historic centre in Lviv join the Historic Centre of Odesa, which was inscribed on the list in January 2023 for the same reason.

Inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger further strengthens local conservation measures. It also opens the door to international technical and financial support, as well as signalling the importance of helping to protect these sites to all 195 States Parties to the Convention.

With 5 new sites inscribed this year, Africa has reached the symbolic milestone of 100 sites on the World Heritage List. Rwanda had its first 2 inscriptions: Nyungwe National Park and the genocide memorial sites at Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero. This session was also marked by the removal of the Tombs of the Buganda Kings at Kasubi in Uganda from the World Heritage in Danger list, following an ambitious restoration project implemented by the Ugandan authorities and local communities with the support of UNESCO.

Offering new recognition to “Sites of Memory”, 3 locations linked to recent conflicts were added to the World Heritage List: Argentina’s ESMA Museum and Place of Memory – Former Clandestine Detention, Torture and Extermination Centre, Rwanda’s Genocide Memorial Sites: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero, and Belgium and France’s Funeral and Memorial Sites of the Western Front in the First World War.

Sites of Memory are places in which an event occurred that a nation and its people, or certain communities wish to memorialize. Either already accessible, or made accessible to the public, these sites become places of reconciliation, contemplation and peaceful reflection. The inclusion of Sites of Memory on the World Heritage List makes them part of our shared global heritage, and recognizes the part they play in the peace process.

Lastly, six World Heritage properties in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, the Marshall Islands and Sri Lanka were awarded international funding totalling 336,000 USD to support local conservation projects.

1. New cultural World Heritage Sites

1. Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er, China
2. Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites, Mongolia
3. Gaya Tumuli, South Korea
4. Gordion, Türkiye
5. Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany
6. Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, Cambodia
7. Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939, Lithuania
8. National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj, Guatemala
9. Old town of Kuldīga, Latvia
10. Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic Menorca, Spain
11. Santiniketan, India
12. Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
13. The Gedeo Cultural Landscape, Ethiopia
14. The Persian Caravanserai, Iran
15. Tr’ondëk-Klondike, Canada
16. Viking-Age Ring Fortresses, Denmark
17. Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops, Czechia
18. Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan, Palestine
19. Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University, Russia
20. Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route, Azerbaijan
21. Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory, Tunisia
22. ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination, Argentina
23. Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands
24. Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front), Belgium, France
25. Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, USA
26. Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery, Suriname
27. Memorial sites of the Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero, Rwanda
28. Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, India
29. The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments, Thailand
30. The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks, Indonesia
31. The Maison Carrée of Nîmes, France
32. Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia, Türkiye
33. Zagori Cultural Landscape, Greece

2. New natural World Heritage Sites

1. Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua, Congo
2. Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique, France
3. Anticosti, Canada
4. Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
5. Cold Winter Deserts of Turan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
6. Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines, Italy
7. Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
8. Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, Tajikistan
9. ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid, Saudi Arabia

3. Extended World Heritage Sites

1. Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, Benin, Togo
2. Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone, Portugal
3. Andrefana Dry Forests, Madagascar
4. Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago, Vietnam
5. Hyrcanian Forests, Azerbaijan, Iran