The UNESCO World Heritage Committee in late July listed a site in the Gaza Strip, Saint Hilarion Monastery or Tell Umm Amer. “World Heritage” and “World Heritage in Danger” lists.
According to UNESCO, the decision was taken at the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, India, and reflects the value of the ancient monastery and the need for conservation.
According to UNESCO, the monastery is one of the oldest sites in the Middle East, and the committee used the emergency procedure set out in the World Heritage Convention to include it on both lists. This program allows for accelerated inscription of threatened locations.
“The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip may pose a threat to this archaeological site, in which case this procedure is feasible,” a UNESCO spokesperson told CNBC Travel.
According to UNESCO, the Monastery of St. Hilarion/Termum Amir was the seat of the first monastic community in the Holy Land and “was a center of religious, cultural and economic exchange” during the Byzantine period.
Mohamed Abed | AFP | Getty Images
So far, UNESCO says it has not detected any damage to the site and is conducting remote monitoring using satellite imagery.
what does that mean
Thanks to these inscriptions, UNESCO’s 196 “Contracting States” – or countries that have ratified the Convention world heritage congress Adopted by UNESCO in 1972 – must avoid direct or indirect damage to the site and help protect it, UNESCO said.
UNESCO told CNBC Travel that Israel is no longer a member of UNESCO, but it is a state party, which means it is bound by the terms of the Convention to protect rather than destroy the monastery.
Israel joined the United States in withdrawing from UNESCO on December 31, 2018 due to anti-Israel bias This phenomenon intensified after the organization accepted the “State of Palestine” as a member in 2011.
Under the Biden administration, the United States officially rejoined UNESCO in July 2023.
Israel has not yet rejoined UNESCO, although it has sent a delegation as a non-voting observer to annual meetings of the World Heritage Committee, including a high-profile appearance in 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Use emergency procedures
A UNESCO spokesperson told CNBC that it is quite common for sites to be included on both UNESCO’s World Heritage and “endangered” lists.
Recent examples include the historic center of the Ukrainian port city of Odessa and the archaeological sites of Yemen’s ancient Saba kingdom, both of which were added to the list in January 2023.
Saint Hilarion Monastery/Telum Amir can be quickly inscribed on the World Heritage List using UNESCO’s emergency procedure, a process that usually takes at least two years.
Mohamed Abed | AFP | Getty Images
There are currently 1,123 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, but only 56 are on the “in danger” list, which lists sites threatened by war, natural disasters, pollution, overtourism or other problems.
Sites on the “endangered” list can also receive technical and financial assistance for conservation and restoration efforts.
A UNESCO spokesman said requests for simultaneous listing using emergency procedures must come from a state party.
Workers are restoring the mosaics at the Monastery of St. Hilarion / Terum Amer, which dates back to 329 AD and consists of two churches, a cemetery, a baptistery, a public cemetery, an audience It consists of hall and restaurant.
Mohamed Abed | AFP | Getty Images
“Palestine first included the site in its tentative list in 2012,” the spokesman said, referring to the list of sites that countries intend to nominate as World Heritage sites in the future. “In June 2024, (it) submitted the nomination of ‘Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Telum Amir’ and requested urgent processing.”
The spokesman said the inscription was decided by consensus among committee members.
The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee concluded on Wednesday 26 new sites added to UNESCO World Heritage Listthe Micronesian island of Nauru became its 196th state party.
