Istanbul, Turkey, 17 July—The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Istanbul, Turkey from 10 to 17 July with Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lale Ülker as its Chairperson has inscribed 21 sites on the World Heritage List. They include 12 cultural sites, six natural and three mixed sites. The World Heritage List now numbers 1052 sites in 165 countries.

The state of conservation of 155 sites was also examined during the session. Libya’s five World Heritage sites were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, as was a site in Uzbekistan and another in Mali. One site in Georgia was removed from the list of endangered sites, while the site of Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia(Federated States of Micronesia) was simultaneously inscribed both on the World Heritage List and on the List in Danger.

The 41st session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in the city of Kraków in Poland, in July 2017.

The cultural sites inscribed are:

  • Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites, (Antigua and Barbuda)
  • The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan, Switzerland)
  • Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia)
  • Pampulha Modern Ensemble (Brazil)
  • Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (China)
  • Archaeological Site of Philippi (Greece)
  • Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda, Bihar, (India)
  • The Persian Qanat (Islamic Republic of Iran)
  • Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia (Federated State of Micronesia)
  • Antequera Dolmens Site ,(Spain)
  • Archaeological Site of Ani (Turkey)
  • Gorham's Cave Complex (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Natural Sites:

  • Mistaken Point (Canada)
  • Hubei Shennongjia (China)
  • Lut Desert (Islamic Republic of Iran)
  • Western Tien-Shan (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan)
  • Archipiélago de Revillagigedo (Mexico)
  • Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park (Sudan)

Mixed, natural and cultural, sites:

  • Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape (Chad)
  • Khangchendzonga National Park (India)
  • The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities (Iraq)
The following eight sites were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger:
  • Archaeological Site of Cyrene (Libya)
  • Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna (Libya)
  • Archaeological Site of Sabratha (Libya)
  • Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus (Libya)
  • Old Town of Ghadamès (Libya)
  • Old Town of Djenné (Mali)
  • Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz (Uzbekistan)
  • Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia)

The Georgian site of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee will resume in Paris in October to examine outstanding issues that could not be discussed over the past seven days. The Committee adjourned its work three days before schedule due to the United Nations security protocol put in place following the events that occurred in Turkey on 15 July.


Watch  Watch the Committee’s video recordings, photos and more
Twitter Facebook

Twitter: #WorldHeritage ; #40WHC

Media Contacts

George Papagiannis,
UNESCO Press Service, g.papagiannis@unesco.org
+33 (0) 6 82 94 89 54
+90 549 649 86 20

Agnès Bardon,
UNESCO Press Service
a.bardon@unesco.org
+33 (0) 6 80 24 13 56
+90 549 649 86 19