On 23 November 2020, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), organized an online meeting on “World Heritage in Danger in the Arab States Region, Processes and Actions”.
Focal points and site managers responsible for properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in the Arab States region, as well as representatives from ARC-WH, ICOMOS, the UNESCO field offices, and the World Heritage Centre, met online to discuss the mechanisms, functions and procedures of inscribing properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The meeting aimed at providing an overview of the procedures related to the List of World Heritage in Danger, and at demonstrating how this listing contributes to responding effectively to threats facing World Heritage properties. The framework for the elaboration of the Desired state of conservation for the removal of properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR) and the related corrective measures was presented. The meeting also provided an opportunity to highlight and discuss the main outcomes of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Arab States region in relation to World Heritage in Danger.
Discussions focused on case studies and lessons learnt from Danger Listing, and highlighted the successful removal of the property Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine) from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2019.
The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action. It draws international attention and allows the World Heritage Committee to allocate immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund to endangered properties.
