site.btaNine New Sites Proposed for UNESCO World Heritage List during 47th Session of Committee on Friday

Nine new sites nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List were reviewed Friday at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee, held under the presidency of Bulgaria.

In the morning session, the sites of Diy-Gid-Biy (Cameroon), Mount Mulanje (Malawi) and Faya Palaeolandscape (United Arab Emirates) were accepted, the UNESCO press office in Paris informed.

The second part of the session covered the Murujuga Sites (Australia), the Imperial Tombs of Xixia (China), Maratha Military Landscapes (India), Cambodian Memorial Sites, the Prehistoric Falak-ol-Aflak Caves and Ensemble (Iran) and Selangor Forest Park, Malaysia.

The 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee runs until July 16 at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris. As part of the session, Bulgaria will present elements of its cultural and natural heritage. During this year’s session, the Committee will consider proposals for 30 new sites to be inscribed and the extension of two already on the list, as well as review the state of conservation for 248 existing World Heritage Sites.

UNESCO was founded on November 16, 1945. Bulgaria became a member on May 17, 1956, the same year its National Commission for UNESCO was established. The Commission coordinates activities between Bulgarian institutions and UNESCO.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is one of the two governing bodies responsible for implementing the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is composed of representatives from 21 countries elected from among the 196 States Parties to the Convention.