On behalf of the World Heritage Committee, I was deeply saddened by the news of the earthquake that has caused loss of life and the destruction of the beautiful city of Christchurch.  I send my sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of New Zealand. To many of us who were present at the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee in June 2007, we fondly remember the warm welcome of ...

A mission was organized from the 30th January - 5th February 2010 in view of strengthening Spanish Funds-in-Trust technical cooperation, focusing on the Spanish Funds-in-Trust programme for indicators of sustainable development at World Heritage Historic Centres. The objectives of the mission were: Guide the roadmap to finalize the management plan of the city, as requested by the World ...

The International Meeting "The Chinchorro Culture from a Comparative Perspective ", took place in Arica, Chile, 5-8 January, 2010. As a result of this meeting the World Heritage Centre is preparing a publication that will work in tandem in support of the process of the preparation of the nomination file of the Archaeological sites of the Chinchorro culture, Chile, focusing on ...

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova's Special Envoy on the Preah Vihear Temple, Koïchiro Matsuura, will travel to Bangkok and Phnom Penh between 25 February and 1 March to discuss the safeguarding of the World Heritage site with the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers. Mr Matsuura, a former Director-General of UNESCO (1999-2009) and a former Chair of the World Heritage Committee (1999), ...

Pratapur Temple in the Swayambhu Monument Zone of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal suffered damage from a lightning strike at around 5 a.m. on 14 February, during a sudden thunderstorm. A team of engineers from the Department of Archaeology of Nepal inspected the temple the following day, and the preliminary report will be available shortly thereafter. Experts from the UNESCO ...

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova regretted the continuing tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear. "The world's cultural heritage should never be a cause for conflict," she said. She announced that she would shortly send a Special Envoy on a mission of good offices to Bangkok and Phnom Penh, following appropriate consultations with both ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today reiterated her call for calm and restraint around the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. A border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand caused several deaths and damage to the site in recent days. "I intend to send a mission to the area as soon as possible to assess the state of the temple," she said. ...

UNESCO Director- General Irina Bokova expressed her deep concern at the sudden escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand on the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the World Heritage List. Reports indicate that troops on either side have exchanged fire resulting in the loss of life and also some damage to the temple. The Director-General expresses her distress at ...

UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova today received assurances from Egypt's new minister for antiquities Zahi Hawass that every possible measure was being taken to protect Egyptian cultural heritage. In a telephone conversation, the minister informed Irina Bokova that the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is safe and that the army and firefighters have established a cordon around the ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Secretariat to the World Heritage Convention, wishes to extend its best wishes to the Secretariat for the Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) on World Wetlands Day, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its adoption. Like the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention is a site-based intergovernmental treaty ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today launched an appeal to protect cultural heritage and to respect freedom of expression in Egypt. "My compassion goes first to the victims of the civil unrest and their families," said Irina Bokova, deploring the deaths of 190 people during the protests. The Director-General called on all parties to protect Egyptian cultural heritage, symbol ...