UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee named a site in the Gaza Strip — the Monastery of St. Hilarion, or Tell Umm Amer — to its “World Heritage” and “World Heritage in Danger” lists in late July.
The decision, taken during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India, reflects the value and need to protect the ancient monastery, according to UNESCO.
The Commission inscribed the monastery – one of the oldest sites in the Middle East, according to UNESCO – on both lists using an urgent procedure set out in the World Heritage Convention. The process allows for expedited registrations for threatened sites.
“The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, which could pose a threat to this archaeological site, is a situation in which this process is possible,” a UNESCO spokesperson told CNBC Travel.
The Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tel Umm Amer was home to the first monastic community in the Holy Land and “was a center of religious, cultural and economic exchange” during the Byzantine period, according to UNESCO.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
To date, UNESCO has said it has detected no damage to the site, which it is monitoring remotely using satellite imagery.
What does this mean
As a result of the inscriptions, UNESCO’s 196 “State Parties” — or countries that have ratified the World Heritage Convention approved by UNESCO in 1972 — must avoid direct or indirect destruction of the site and help protect it, UNESCO said.
Israel is no longer a member of UNESCO, but is a State Party, meaning it is bound by the terms of the Convention to protect and not damage the monastery, UNESCO told CNBC Travel.
Along with the United States, Israel withdrew from UNESCO on December 31, 2018, amid allegations of anti-Israel bias in the United Nations service, which crescendoed after the organization accepted the “state of Palestine” as a member in 2011.
Under the Biden administration, the United States officially rejoined UNESCO in July 2023.
Israel has not rejoined UNESCO, although it has sent delegations to annual meetings of the World Heritage Committee to serve as non-voting observers, including a much-publicized appearance at the 2023 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Use of the emergency procedure
Simultaneous inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage and “In Danger” lists are rather common, a UNESCO spokesperson told CNBC.
Recent examples include the historic center of Ukraine, the port city of Odessa and the archaeological sites of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba, which were both registered in January 2023.
The use of UNESCO’s emergency procedure led to the quick inclusion of the Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer on the World Heritage Lists, a process that usually takes at least two years.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
There are currently 1,123 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, but just 56 on the “In Danger” list, which identifies sites threatened by war, natural disasters, pollution, overtourism or other problems.
Sites on the “At Risk” list may also receive technical and financial assistance for protection and restoration work.
Requests to use the emergency procedure for simultaneous registrations must come from a State Party, the UNESCO spokesman said.
Workers restore a mosaic at the Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer, a site dating to 329 AD. and consists of two churches, a burial ground, a baptistery, a public cemetery, an audience hall and refectories.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
“Palestine first included the site on its Provisional List in 2012,” the spokesman said, referring to a list of sites that countries intend to designate as World Heritage Sites in the future. “In June 2024, [it] submitted the nomination “Agios Hilarion Monastery/Say Umm Am Amer” with a request to process it on an urgent basis.
The registration was decided by consensus among the members of the Committee, according to the spokesman.
The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee concluded on Wednesday with 26 new sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Listand the small Micronesian island of Nauru becomes its 196th Party State.
