According to UNESCO, the newly inscribed properties comprise 19 cultural sites, five natural sites and one mixed site, bringing the total number of World Heritage properties to 1,273.
Three properties were inscribed under an emergency procedure: the Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape in South Sudan, the Mount Amel Castles in Lebanon and Sebastia in Palestine. All three were also among the six sites added to the List of World Heritage in Danger this year.
“The use of this mechanism for three sites in a single session underscores the growing number of heritage properties under threat in regions affected by conflict and instability, and reflects the Committee’s determination to extend international protection and recognition before it is too late,” UNESCO said.
The session also marked the first World Heritage inscriptions for Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Sudan. As a result, the number of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention without a World Heritage property has fallen to 23 out of the Convention’s 196 States Parties.
One of the highlights of the session was the inscription of the Beaches of the D-Day Landings, Normandy, 1944, in France as a site of memory. Since 2023, the World Heritage List has included this category to recognize places associated with events that countries and their communities wish to commemorate. The serial property, comprising six component parts stretching about 80 km along the Normandy coast, was inscribed in recognition of its association with the Allied landings on June 6, 1944 — the opening phase of Operation Overlord, which marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II.
The Committee also inscribed several notable cultural properties, including China’s Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites. Located in east China’s Jiangxi Province, the property comprises five component areas that together illustrate the development of Jingdezhen’s handcrafted porcelain industry from the 10th to the 19th century. The inscription fills a long-standing gap on the World Heritage List for porcelain heritage and brings the total number of World Heritage properties in China to 61.
The World Heritage Committee is one of the two governing bodies of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is responsible for implementing the Convention, examining nominations for inscription on the World Heritage List, and monitoring the conservation status of inscribed properties.
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