World Heritage Committee mulls adding Arab sites to its list

CAIRO - 13 July 2017: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee is considering including 34 sites, some of which are in the Arab world, to the World Heritage List.

As stated on the

official UNESCO website

on June 16, among the Arab sites the committee will consider are Dubai Creek; a traditional trade port in the United Arab Emirates, and the architectural art of Al-Salt, Jordan; the latter is a testimony to the origin and development of architectural art in the Levant.

Most members of the World Heritage Committee, which consists of 21 state parties elected by the General Assembly of State Parties, praised the resolution.

The committee’s assessment of these two sites is significant since July 7; Arab sites: Al-Khalil Old Town and the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron, Palestine

were added to the list.

The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage took part in the 41st meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Poland this year, from July 2-12, under the chairmanship of Jacek Purchla, founder and director of the Krakov Cultural Center.