Implementation of 184 EX/Decision37 on the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb – Postponement of item discussion – UNESCO document

1. At the 184th session of the Executive Board, an item 184 EX/37 concerning “the two Palestinian sites of al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in al-Khalil/Hebron and the Bilâl ibn Râbâh Mosque/Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem” was introduced on the agenda upon the request of Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. The same Member States, joined by Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Malaysia, Pakistan, Senegal, Venezuela and Viet Nam submitted 184 EX/PX/DR.5 to the PX Commission.

2. No consensus having been reached on this item despite considerable efforts, 184 EX/Decision 37 was adopted by the Executive Board, to which the Draft Decision was attached, postponing the examination of this item to its 185th session.

3. In this context, it should be noted that at its 34th session (25 July-3 August 2010, Brasilia, Brazil), the World Heritage Committee adopted Decision 34 COM 11 relating to “the protection of the Palestinian cultural and natural heritage” by which it encouraged “the reactivation of the joint Israeli-Palestinian Technical Committee for Archaeology in coordination with the concerned parties”, as recommended at the 29th and 30th sessions of the World Heritage Committee and, as such, requested “the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS to undertake a mission to assess the state of conservation of the main sites listed in the Inventory of Palestinian Heritage of potential Outstanding Universal Value”.

4. In follow-up to this decision, the Secretariat has contacted the concerned parties.