Decision : CONF 208 IV.16
Follow-up to the resolution of the Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties (30-31 October 2001): acts constituting "crimes against the common heritage of humanity"

IV.16 Upon examination of the work of the Working Group the following decision, composed of three parts, was adopted:

Part 1

1.1 The Committee examined the chronology of events related to the nomination for inclusion on the World Heritage List of the statues of Bamiyan and other cultural heritage properties of Afghanistan by the Afghan authorities presented in WHC-01/CONF.208/23 at the request of the Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention.

1.2 It expressed appreciation for the additional information presented by the Representative of the Director-General of UNESCO concerning the continued efforts being made by UNESCO to protect the heritage of Afghanistan.

1.3 The Committee reiterated the condemnation of the wilful destruction of the cultural heritage of Afghanistan by the Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, and took note of the Resolution adopted by the thirty-first UNESCO General Conference concerning the Acts constituting “crimes against the common heritage of humanity”.

1.4 The Committee underscored its conviction that all steps taken to implement the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Afghanistan should be planned and executed within the overall framework of the UN Interagency programme being elaborated for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

1.5 It recognized the need to examine possible actions that the World Heritage Committee can take in similar future cases where there are threats of deliberate and wilful destruction of the World Heritage and potential World Heritage.

1.6 The Committee underlined the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 1954) and its Protocols, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), the World Heritage Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), the UNIDROIT Convention and other relevant international legal instruments.

1.7 It further noted with regret that of the 167 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, only 100 countries are States Parties to the 1954 Convention, 83 States Parties to the First Protocol, and 91 States Parties to the 1970 Convention.

1.8 The Committee expressed its appreciation to UNESCO for commissioning a legal analysis on the ways and means by which the implementation of the relevant UNESCO Conventions concerning the protection of cultural heritage can be reinforced. 1.9 The Committee reaffirmed the duty of the international community as a whole to protect the heritage of humanity, in accordance with Article 6 of the World Heritage Convention.

Part 2

2.1 The Committee encouraged States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre to mobilize and support to the extent possible and as appropriate, activities by nongovernmental organizations active in the field of heritage protection for safeguarding the heritage of Afghanistan.

2.2 It requested the World Heritage Centre to organize a technical fact-finding and consultative mission to Afghanistan, within the framework of the UN Inter-Agency programme for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, as soon as possible and when the security situation permits,

(i) to assist the Afghan authorities in elaborating a national action plan for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention;

(ii) to provide assistance to the Afghan authorities for collating scientific documentation to elaborate a national inventory on natural and cultural heritage properties of Afghanistan in close co-operation with the relevant Advisory Bodies;

(iii) to assess the state of conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of Afghanistan;

(iv) to encourage the authorities, supported by the World Heritage Centre, in reactivating the nomination process initiated by the former Afghan authorities in 1981;

(v) to provide assistance to the authorities as appropriate to reformulate and/or complete the nomination dossiers of those properties deferred in 1983 by the World Heritage Committee, in spite of the recognition of the universal significance of such properties;

2.3 Based upon the results of this fact-finding mission, the Committee encouraged the Afghan authorities in elaborating a Tentative List of properties that they may wish to nominate for inscription on the World Heritage List.

2.4 The Committee decided to allocate US$49,000 from the World Heritage Fund Emergency Assistance Budget on an exceptional basis for (a) the organization of the fact-finding and consultative mission (see Annex VIII.A) and for (b) the compilation of the scientific documentation to assist the Afghan authorities in preparing national inventories of natural and cultural heritage properties and to reformulate the nominations submitted by the former Afghan authorities in 1981 (see Annex VIII.B).

2.5 The Committee requested the World Heritage Centre to keep it informed of the results of the factfinding and consultative mission to Afghanistan soon after its completion. The Committee requested the World Heritage Centre to inform the Committee at its twenty-sixth session in June 2002 on the progress made in assisting the Afghan authorities in implementing the World Heritage Convention.

Part 3

3.1 The Committee reiterated the appeal made by the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to all States Parties to become signatories to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, its two Protocols, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, the UNIDROIT Convention and other international legal instruments protecting cultural heritage, if they have not yet done so, in order to maximize the protection of the cultural heritage of humanity, and in particular, against destructive acts, especially taking into consideration the designation of year 2002 as the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage.

3.2 The Committee noted the fundamental principles and guidelines included in these instruments to prevent the destruction of the heritage including looting and illicit excavations and transfer.

3.3 The Committee requested UNESCO through the World Heritage Centre to prepare, in the meantime, explanatory notes outlining the obligations of States Parties of the World Heritage Convention in relation to the other relevant UNESCO Conventions for the protection of cultural heritage.

3.4 It requested the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to make available for the information and consideration by the Committee at its twenty-sixth session in June 2002, the legal analysis on the ways and means to reinforce the implementation of the relevant UNESCO Conventions for the protection of cultural heritage being completed by the former Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Dr F. Francioni, for the UNESCO Director-General.

3.5 The Committee decided to reconsider at its twenty-sixth session when further information is made available, ways and means by which the implementation of the World Heritage Convention can be reinforced, especially in relation to other relevant UNESCO Conventions for the protection of cultural and natural heritage, including possible modalities for activating paragraph 67 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, in future cases like the destruction of the statues of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

3.6 The Committee requested the World Heritage Centre to elaborate all possible initiatives the World Heritage Committee and the Director-General of UNESCO can take in future cases of wilful and deliberate destruction of heritage.