46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee from 21 to 31 July 2024

The World Heritage Committee is one of the two bodies governing the Convention for the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is composed of the representatives of 21 States, elected from the 195 States parties to the Convention.

The Committee is responsible for implementing the Convention, for examining new proposals for inscription on the World Heritage List, and for assessing the state of conservation of sites already inscribed, on the basis of analyses produced by UNESCO’s advisory bodies and Secretariat. It meets once a year in an ordinary session.

Provisional programme

From 23 to 25 July, the Committee will examine the state of conservation of the 124 sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List, 57 of which are also on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

From 26 July to 29 July, the Committee will examine the dossiers of 28 sites proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List. The sites will be examined according to category: natural, mixed and cultural.

The 28 nominations are:

Natural properties

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vjetrenica Cave, Ravno
Brazil: Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
China: Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The Flow Country

Mixed properties (cultural and natural)

Ethiopia: Melka Kunture and Balchit Archeological and Paleontological Site
France : Te Henua Enata – The Marquesas Islands

Cultural properties

Burkina Faso: Royal Court of Tiébélé
China: Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital
Germany: Schwerin Residence Ensemble
India: Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty
Italy: Via Appia. Regina Viarum
Iran (Islamic Republic of): Hegmataneh and Historical Centre of Hamedan
Japan: Sado Island Gold Mines
Jordan: Umm Al-Jimāl
Kenya: The Historic Town and Archaeological Site of Gedi
Malaysia: The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex
Panama: The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá
Portugal : Levadas da Madeira
Romania : Brâncusi Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu
Romania : Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Dacia
Russian Federation: Testament of Kenozero Lake
Saudi Arabia: The Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area
South Africa: Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites
South Africa: The Emergence of Modern Humans: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of
Thailand: The Phu Phrabat Historical Park

Important boundary changes

China: Migratory Bird Sanctuary along the Yellow Sea Coast and Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II)
Germany, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States: Colonies of the Moravian Church

To date, the World Heritage Committee has inscribed 1199 sites in 168 countries on the World Heritage List.

Learn more