UNESCO World Heritage Committee to hold 44th session in China

The 44th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held online in Fuzhou (China) on July 16-31, Report informs, citing the Friday announcement of the Paris headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

According to it, the session "will combine current work and issues remaining unresolved from last year, when such an annual meeting was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic." Tian Xuejun, Deputy Minister of Education of China and Director of China's National Commission for UNESCO, will chair the expanded meeting.

UNESCO Director-General Audre Azoulay will take part in the opening session on July 16. The committee, in particular, will examine the state of conservation of 255 sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List. Of these, 53 are also on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

From July 24, during the session, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will begin considering new nominations for inscription on the World Heritage List, starting with applications that could not be viewed last year.