India to host UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in New Delhi from July 21

Sub: IR

Sec: Int org

UNESCO World Heritage Committee 46th Session:

Held at: Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, India
Organized by: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
Participants:
- Total Delegates: Over 2,500 from 195 countries, including State Parties, advisory bodies, senior diplomats, heritage experts, scholars, and researchers

UNESCO World Heritage Committee:

Established: November 16, 1972
Comprises representatives from 21 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention (1972) elected by the General Assembly of UNESCO.
Previous Session: The 45th session was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Purpose: Implementation of the World Heritage Convention
Responsibilities:
- Allocates financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund
- Decides on the inscription of sites on the World Heritage List
Last Rules of Procedure Revision: 39th session, Bonn, 2015
Current Members (elected November 2023):
- Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Türkiye, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zambia

What is the World Heritage Convention?

The World Heritage Convention, more accurately the Convention Concerning
the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, was adopted in 1972 at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, France.
It came into force in 1975. India ratified the convention in 1977.
The convention aims to promote cooperation among countries to protect heritage all over the world that is of such outstanding universal value that its conservation is important for current and future generations.
Currently, there are 194 State Parties to the convention.
State Parties agree to:
- Adopt a general policy that aims to give the cultural and natural heritage a function in the life of the community and to integrate the protection of that heritage into comprehensive planning programs.
- Undertake appropriate legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and rehabilitation of this heritage.
- Refrain from ‘any deliberate measures which might damage, directly or indirectly, the cultural and natural heritage’ of other Parties to the Convention, and to help other Parties in the identification and protection of their properties.
The World Heritage Convention links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties.

India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

Total Sites: 42
Recent Addition: Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas in Karnataka (42nd site), Santiniketan (41st site)

Source: TH