The UNESCO World Heritage List Now Added Three More Sites Deemed In Danger
On Wednesday, the UNESCO world heritage list added three more sites; the old town of Odesa, Ukraine, and locations in Yemen and Lebanon. At the same time, UNESCO put all three of these locations on its list of World Heritage in Peril.
Author:Velma BattleReviewer:Michael RachalJan 30, 20232 Shares206 Views
On Wednesday, the UNESCO world heritage list added three more sites; the old town of Odesa, Ukraine, and locations in Yemen and Lebanon. At the same time, UNESCO put all three of these locations on its list of World Heritage in Peril.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, issued a statement saying he believed the status would assist in shielding Odessa from the fighting.
“„While the war continues, this inscription embodies our collective determination to ensure that this city, which has always surmounted global upheavals, is preserved from further destruction.- Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO
“„Odesa, a free city, a world city, a legendary port that has left its mark on cinema, literature and the arts, is thus placed under the reinforced protection of the international community.- Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO
Why The Sites Were Added In The List
The historic district of Odesa, a Ukrainian port city, is one of three new monuments put on UNESCO's "danger" list on Wednesday.
The UNESCO Convention states that all members must "not adopt any purposeful steps that directly or indirectly destroy their legacy or that of any State Party to the Convention." Russia and Ukraine, however, are also Charter members of the Convention.
With Russia's continuing invasion of Ukraine, it's natural that many would want to see Odesa safeguarded by this designation.
Oscar Niemeyer, a Brazilian architect, created the Rachid Karameh International Fair of Tripoli in northern Lebanon in 1962. UNESCO claims that "The fair represented the high point of Lebanon's modernization agenda in the 1960s. As a result of Oscar Niemeyer, the project's architect, and Lebanese engineers working closely together, a rare example of teamwork across continents was born."
World Heritage Committee members decided to include the site "because of its worrying condition of conservation, the lack of financial means for its upkeep, and the latent danger of development projects that might harm the integrity of the complex."
Seven archaeological monuments in Marib, Yemen, that "give testimony to the wealthy Kingdom of Saba and its architectural, artistic, and technical accomplishments from the 1st century BCE to the introduction of Islam approximately 630 CE," as UNESCO puts it, make up the Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba.
According to the organization, ancient Ma'rib's irrigation system was the "biggest ancient man-made oasis" because of its "technical competence in hydrological engineering and agriculture on a scale unsurpassed in ancient South Arabia."
The melting of Yosemite and Kilimanjaro's glaciers, and others like them, is anticipated by the year 2050. Archaeologists at Peru's Nazca Lines uncover 168 more prehistoric drawings. Because of fears of devastation from the continuing war, these locations were included.
UNESCO grants Odesa's historic centre World Heritage in Danger status • FRANCE 24 English
Final Words
The criteria for World Heritage sites include their exceptional universal importance "and being able to check off at least one of the ten prerequisites. Among the requirements are that the work is a masterpiece of human creative talent and carries some "proof of the existence or demise of a civilization or cultural practice.
Velma Battle
Author
Travelling Expert
Michael Rachal
Reviewer
Travelling Expert
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