Today, on July 22, during the first day of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in New Delhi (India) from August 21 to 31, a statement in support of Ukraine was made on behalf of 46 countries.
The statement emphasizes that the russian federation continually ignores UNESCO’s repeated calls to cease attacks on cultural heritage sites, actions that violate the core values and goals of the Organization, as well as the 1972 Convention.
The statement focuses on information regarding the scale of destruction and damage to cultural heritage sites in Ukraine since the beginning of russia’s illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It underscores that in the face of russia’s disgraceful actions, including those against the objectives of the 1972 Convention, the international community must demonstrate its determination to uphold its values and implement the decisions made by the World Heritage Committee to protect the heritage of humanity. The statement also calls on the russian federation to immediately cease all illegal military actions against Ukraine, withdraw all its armed forces, and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
Ukraine is represented at this event by a delegation led by Anastasia Bondar, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy. The delegation includes representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and experts. The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee is another significant step towards strengthening global cooperation and ensuring the protection of world heritage sites.
Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and head of the delegation representing Ukraine at the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, Anastasia Bondar, thanked the international community for its solidarity and support. She provided updated information on the scale of damage and destruction of cultural heritage in Ukraine, which currently includes 1,085 monuments and at least 2,013 cultural infrastructure sites. She also highlighted the situation concerning the UNESCO World Heritage site “Chersonesus and its Chora.”
“It is important to emphasize that these horrific losses are not limited to direct missile strikes. The deliberate destruction of the Kakhovka HPP and the constant explosions in cities, including Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa, create sound and blast waves that cause serious damage to ancient buildings and cultural heritage sites. I also want to draw special attention to the situation unfolding with the UNESCO World Heritage site located in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, namely, Chersonesus and its Chora. This invaluable archaeological, historical, and cultural monument has been brutally damaged, with illegal construction being carried out on its territory. Such actions are a gross violation of international humanitarian law and UNESCO principles. We call on the Committee to take urgent action in response to these unacceptable actions by the russian federation,” stated Anastasia Bondar.
The Deputy Minister also called on the international community to enhance monitoring and documentation of the destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, ensure the protection and preservation of cultural values in temporarily occupied territories, and advocate for changes and adaptations to procedures and protocols to address current global challenges such as wars and military conflicts.
Ukraine participated in the session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the first time as a member of this working body. Thanks to the opportunities gained and the active diplomatic and expert work of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine now has a unique opportunity to influence processes. Additionally, it can inform about the real situation in the country and the destruction of cultural heritage sites by russia.
“Preservation, capacity building, communication, communities, and trust are strategic goals of the World Heritage Convention. Ensuring the effective preservation of sites against the challenges we face today in Ukraine, considering the full-scale invasion and unprovoked armed aggression aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity, is a task that requires the combined efforts of the international community,” said Lina Doroshenko, a member of the delegation, national coordinator from Ukraine on the preservation of world cultural heritage, and an expert on Ukraine’s world heritage issues.
The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee has brought together specialists from around the world who will work over ten days to develop decisions for the preservation of our shared cultural, natural, and mixed heritage.
The World Heritage Committee consists of representatives from 21 states parties to the World Heritage Convention (1972), elected by the UNESCO General Assembly. The current members of the World Heritage Committee, following elections at the 24th session of the UNESCO General Assembly (November 2023), are Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, India, Italy, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, Jamaica, and Japan.