Qatar elected member of World Heritage Committee

QNA Paris Qatar was elected to the World Heritage Committee for the period 2021-2025 with 114 votes on Thursday. The election took place during the 41st se...

QNAParisQatar was elected to the World Heritage Committee for the period 2021-2025 with 114 votes on Thursday. The election took place during the 41st session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, during the meeting of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention (UNESCO).Qatar received the most votes (114 votes) among the candidate countries for the open seats, followed by Belgium (103 votes), Zambia (100 votes), and Rwanda (90 votes).In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, HE Dr. Nasser bin Hamad Al Hanzab, expressed Qatar’s pride in joining the World Heritage Committee, emphasizing that this choice confirms the State of Qatar’s tireless efforts to promote progress in world heritage standards and awareness at the national and international levels. He went on to say that it demonstrates the State of Qatar’s position in preserving and protecting cultural heritage, as well as the State of Qatar’s international reputation in UNESCO.He stated that Qatar, through its membership and collaboration with the member states, will strengthen the committee’s role in protecting world cultural heritage and collaborate to ensure the proper implementation of the World Heritage Convention, as well as the allocation of resources and effective protection mechanisms.The Permanent Representative congratulated all new members on their appointment to the committee, expressing hope that the coming period will be fruitful in serving world heritage.The World Heritage Committee is one of the most important UNESCO committees, and it meets annually. It was founded on the 1972 World Heritage Convention. It is made up of representatives from the World Heritage Committee’s 21 member countries, who are appointed by the General Assembly for a four-year term.The members of the World Heritage Committee study the proposals of countries wishing to inscribe their sites on the World Heritage List and submit reports with the assistance of experts on the legitimacy of the sites and provide a final evaluation for the decision to inscribe the proposed sites on the World Heritage List, as the only body responsible for making that decision. The World Heritage Committee is considered a center of the international resolution regarding the world cultural heritage and the identification of international policies and mechanisms to enhance the human cultural heritage and ensure its protection.