Three Sites Added To UNESCO World Heritage In Danger List
Three more iconic sites have been added to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, including the historic center of Odesa in Ukraine. Other sites in Yemen and Lebanon were also added to the list on Wednesday.
Three sites added to UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger
The United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added three sites to its “danger” list including the historic center of the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday.
UNESCO’s founding Convention obliges all members to “not take any deliberate measures that directly or indirectly damage their heritage or that of another State Party to the Convention.” Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are members of the founding Convention.
Obviously, with the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, it is hoped that this listing would help protect Odesa from the war.
At the meeting, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said in a statement:
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.
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.
Moreover, Azoulay added that this decision will give Ukraine access to “technical and financial international assistance” to protect and rehabilitate Odesa’s historic center.
However, it isn’t only Odesa that is in danger. The announcement comes during an extraordinary session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris. At the meeting, three threatened sites were listed:
- Historic Center of Odesa (Ukraine)
- Rachid Karami International Fair, Tripoli (Lebanon)
- Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba in Marib Governorate (Yemen)
Following the World Heritage Committee session, all three sites are now listed on the World Heritage List, as well as the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Rachid Karami International Fair, Tripoli, Lebanon
The Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli was designed in 1962 by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. The main building in the complex is a boomerang-shaped covered exhibition hall.
In its news release, UNESCO said, “It is one of the major representative works of 20th-century modern architecture in the Arab Near East.”
According to UNESCO, the reason for adding the site to the endangered list is due to its:
Alarming state of conservation, the lack of financial resources for its maintenance, and the latent risk of development proposals that could affect the integrity of the complex.
Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba in Marib Governorate, Yemen
The site in Yemen includes seven archaeological sites. These reveal the architectural, aesthetic and technological achievements of the Kingdom of Saba from the 1st millennium BCE to the arrival of Islam in around 630 CE.
Meanwhile, the reason for adding the site to the “in danger” list was due to threats posed by the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
Hopefully, with UNESCO’s protection, these fascinating sites will remain for travelers to visit for all time.