40 th SESSION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE

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1 40 th SESSION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE 40 th Session of the World Heritage Committee, whose hosting country preparations had been made by the Task Force, constituting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and İstanbul Sites Management Directorate, was held in İstanbul, from 10 to 17 July, in İstanbul Congress Center (ICC) under the chairmanship of Lale Ülker, Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In accordance with the standing rules of the World Heritage Committee, and by virtue of the task of chairmanship of the Session should be carried out by the host country; the task of chairmanship of the Session was undertaken by the Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lale Ülker and the coordination of the meeting was undertaken by Cem Kahyaoğlu, Head of Department for Cultural Diplomacy at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Besides 21 World Heritage Committee Members, totally 1600 people participated in the meeting, including representatives of 87 States Parties to the Convention, Non-Governmental Organizations, Academicians, Local Administrations, Sites Management Directorates and Youth Forum participants. During the opening ceremony, which was held on the 10th of July in İstanbul Congress Center; after the video-message of Binali Yıldırım, the Prime Minister of Turkey; Prof. Dr. Numan Kurtulmuş, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey; Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO; Prof. Dr. Nabi Avcı, Minister of Culture and Tourism; Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of İstanbul; Lale Ülker, the chairperson of the 40th Session of the World Heritage Committee; Stanley Mutumba Simataa, the chairperson of the General Conference of UNESCO; Michael Worbs, the president of the Executive Board of UNESCO and Prof. Dr. M. Öcal Oğuz, the president of the Executive Board of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO made their speeches. In addition, Final Declaration of Youth Forum, organized by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO and İstanbul Sites Management Directorate with the participation of 31 young representatives from different countries, was read by İdil Malgil (Turkey) and Jorge Antonio Chávez Mazuelos (Peru) during the opening ceremony. The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, appointed Turkish musician Kudsi Ergüner, UNESCO Artist for Peace at the end of the opening ceremony of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee. Following the opening ceremony on the 10th of July Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of İstanbul, hosted dinner in honour of the participants in İstanbul Congress Center and on the 11th of July, Minister of Culture and Tourism Prof. Dr. Nabi Avcı hosted dinner in honour of the participants in Topkapı Palace. Maps, brochures, magazines, materials and books, some of which was prepared by World Heritage Center and Task Force was given to the participants as gifts, including World Heritage in Turkey 2016, published by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO and the magazine World Heritage in Turkey, prepared with the cooperation of organizations.

2 As a World Heritage Committee Member, Turkish delegation, whose head is the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to UNESCO Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Botsalı, followed the meeting with its executives and experts from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO. On 11 July 2016, on the first item of the agenda of the meeting, Istanbul Declaration was adopted which includes the call for strengthening the sensitivity for protecting cultural and natural heritage considering the new conditions and developments. The summary of the discussions and decisions of the 39th Session of the World Heritage Committee which was held in Bonn, Germany, in 2015; the reports of World Heritage Center, World Heritage Convention and Sustainable Development, Thematic Programmes, Capacity Building, Category 2 Centres were concluded by the Committee. The state of conservation of 155 sites was examined during the session and five World Heritage Sites in Libya were inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, as was one site in Uzbekistan and one in Mali. One site in Georgia was removed from the list of endangered sites while one site in the Federated States of Micronesia was simultaneously inscribed both on the World Heritage List and on the List in Danger. Following the examination of one of the most important items on the Agenda, the item on the new nominations, the World Heritage Committee inscribed 21 sites on the World Heritage List: 12 cultural, six natural and three mixed sites that are both natural and cultural. The World Heritage List now numbers 1052 sites (was 1031) in 165 countries. Among these sites inscribed during the session in Istanbul, is the Archaeological Site of Ani, located within the borders of Ocaklı Village of Kars. Following this inscription, the World Heritage Sites of Turkey has been increased to 16. The Committee decided to suspend its meeting for one day on 16 July 2016, after the discussions between the Task Force, the President of the 40th Session of the World Heritage Committee and the UNESCO Secretariat. The decision was taken following the evening of 15 July 2016 during which a coup attempt against the elected government and democracy was suppressed with the support given by the people to the security forces to take a stand. The Turkish Government informed that the security measures have been ensured at the highest level and that no impediment to the continuation of the meeting exists but underlining the UN Security Protocols it was decided that the 40 th WHC should suspend its works in Istanbul on 17 July The decision thus made that examination of the remaining items on the Agenda to be finalized in October 2016 in Paris. Throughout the meeting, during bilateral talks with the Turkish Delegation and their speeches, the members of and the observers to the Committee underlined that holding such meeting which shapes the safeguarding of world cultural and natural heritage in İstanbul after the terrorist attack to the İstanbul Atatürk Airport that occurred just before the meeting and during the Youth Forum process, is a strong message against terrorism. Within the context of the 40. Session of the World Heritage Committee, more than forty side events and exhibitions were organized, including the Turkish Legislation on the Protection of Cultural Heritage - Synergies in the Implementation of the 1970 and 1972 Conventions which the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Prof. Dr. Nabi Avcı also participated, and the activities organized and hosted by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO: You Can Rescue Heritage Exhibition, The Side Event on World Natural Heritage Potentials of Turkey and World Agricultural Heritages, the dinner for the Green Machine

3 natural heritage experts. Due to the early conclusion of the meeting, some panels and exhibitions of various organizers, including the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO, could not be performed. During its Closing Session on 17 July 2016, the Committee unanimously adopted the proposal of Poland to host the 41st Session of the World Heritage Committee in Krakow, Poland.

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