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UNESCO Weighs 30 New World Heritage Sites at Paris Session

UNESCO is stepping up heritage safeguards with follow-up reviews of nearly 250 sites, resumed conservation work in Syria, satellite monitoring of Gaza's at-risk monuments.

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Le siège de l'Unesco à Paris, le 17 janvier 2025
Le Mont Mulanje en octobre 2017 au Malawi
Le sanctuaire intérieur du pharaon Ramsès II illuminé par le soleil au grand temple d'Abou Simbel, au sud d'Assouan, en Haute-Égypte, le 22 février 2002

Overview

  • UNESCO's World Heritage Committee opened its 47th session in Paris to assess 30 new nominations for cultural and natural heritage status.
  • Two candidates from Guinea-Bissau’s Bijagos Archipelago and Sierra Leone’s Gola Tiwai Forests represent the first submissions from those African nations.
  • The organization initiated follow-up evaluations of almost 250 existing sites to identify preservation challenges and risks.
  • A recent report warns that nearly 73% of World Heritage sites face severe water-related threats, prompting urgent protective measures.
  • UNESCO has resumed conservation work at the National Museum of Damascus, begun preservation efforts at Aleppo's monuments, deployed satellite surveillance of heritage damage in Gaza.