Safeguarding the cultural heritage of Jerusalem – UNESCO resolution

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Records of the General Conference

32nd Session

Paris, 29 September to 17 October 2003

Volume 1

Resolutions

United Nations Educational,

Scientific and

Cultural Organization

32 C/Resolution 39

Jerusalem and the implementation of 31 C/Resolution 31¹

The General Conference,

Referring to 31 C/Resolution 31, as well as to the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions (1949), The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and the related Protocol and to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), the inscription of the Old City of Jerusalem on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger and the recommendations, resolutions and decisions of UNESCO on the protection of the cultural heritage,

Affirming that nothing in the present resolution, which aims at the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, will in any way affect the relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions, in particular the relevant Security Council resolutions on the legal status of Jerusalem,

Taking note of document 32 C/15 concerning Jerusalem and drawing attention to the difficulties encountered in the implementation of 31 C/Resolution 31,

Noting that:

(a) despite the sustained and praiseworthy efforts of the Director-General to implement the resolutions of the General Conference and the decisions of the Executive Board on the safeguarding of Jerusalem, little or no progress has been observed in this regard,

(b) since it is recognized that certain dangers imperil some parts of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem (al-Quds), it is necessary to safeguard monuments and historic sites in a spiritual, cultural and demographic context that, because of both its diversity and its harmonious complementarity, constitutes the unique character of Jerusalem as a symbol of the heritage of humanity as a whole,

(c) concerning the technical mission entrusted to Professor Oleg Grabar, the Israeli authorities have indicated that while they were willing to consider this initiative, they were not able to take any action on it for the time being,

Recalling its decisions on the subject and inviting the Director-General to pursue his efforts for their implementation,

1. Reiterates its support for the initiative announced by the Director-General at the 31st session of the General Conference to prepare a comprehensive plan of action to safeguard the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem; in that connection, recalling the decision taken by the World Heritage Committee at its 27th session, invites the Director-General to set up, as soon as possible, in cooperation with the concerned parties, a highly qualified and purely technical mission to Jerusalem, concerning the state of conservation of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls and requests the Director-General to establish, within a year, an equitably composed committee of experts to be entrusted with proposing, on an exclusively scientific and technical basis, guidelines for this plan of action and proposals for its implementation; invites the Israeli authorities to take the necessary measures in this regard;

2. Invites the start up, within a time frame compatible with the urgency of the situation, of the work to consolidate, restore and rehabilitate the interior of the al-Hƒoaram ash-Sharif, in particular the Ashrafiya Madrasa and the centre for the conservation of historic manuscripts, projects for which preparation is completed and funding available thanks to a generous contribution by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;

3. Requests also speeding up the establishment, within the Al-Quds University, of an archaeological training centre for which UNESCO, on the basis of a proposal by ICCROM, has developed a programme, a schedule and functioning modalities and expresses the wish that this project will reinforce the cooperation between the concerned institutions in Jerusalem;

4. Reiterates its appeal to States, organizations, institutions, legal entities and private individuals to contribute financially to the special account for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, in particular for activities in favour of the preservation of all religious and historic monuments in need of restoration, in all parts of the Old City of Jerusalem as well as training and capacity-building in the field of restoration, preservation of monuments and sites, museum, archives and manuscripts, while at the same time thanking Italy for its cooperation;

5. Requests governmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions to observe UNESCO General Conference resolutions and Executive Board decisions relating to Jerusalem;

6. Invites the Director-General to present a report to the Executive Board at its 170th session;

7. Decides to include this item in the agenda of its 33rd session.

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¹Resolution adopted on the report of Commission IV at the 21st plenary meeting, on 17 October 2003.