Paris: The State of Qatar, acting as Vice-Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and a representative of the Arab Group, has called on the international community to fulfill its moral and legal obligations to protect cultural heritage sites in the occupied Palestinian territories.
According to Qatar News Agency, this appeal was made at the conclusion of the World Heritage Committee's session held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The session emphasized the collective responsibility of preserving humanity's heritage, particularly amid growing threats in conflict zones. In his address, HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Dr. Nasser bin Hamad Al Henzab, reaffirmed the need for joint action and international cooperation to safeguard World Heritage sites from various threats, including climate change, conflicts, and deterioration.
Dr. Al Henzab stressed that protecting humanity's heritage is a shared responsibility that necessitates effective partnerships and a comprehensive approach involving expertise, knowledge, and political will. He highlighted that global cultural heritage faces unprecedented dangers due to escalating conflicts, putting humanity's rich memory at risk of destruction, looting, or marginalization.
He noted that world heritage is a shared legacy representing humanity's story, diversity, and collective experiences. The destruction of cultural heritage, he said, erases more than just physical structures; it obliterates ancestral narratives, severs people's connections to their past, and undermines opportunities for post-conflict reconciliation and recovery.
Dr. Al Henzab affirmed that Qatar, as Vice-Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, views the targeting of cultural heritage sites in Palestine, such as in Ramallah or Gaza, as a blatant violation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention. He specifically mentioned the ongoing threats to the Ibrahimi Mosque (Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi) due to Israeli occupation practices and called for immediate international action to protect this historic site in line with World Heritage Committee resolutions.
He explained that Qatar's stance is rooted in a deep conviction of the need to preserve heritage as a pillar of identity and cultural diversity. Qatar remains committed to the standards of the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention and actively supports international efforts to preserve heritage sites through initiatives that raise awareness of their importance to sustainable development.
In conclusion, Dr. Al Henzab reiterated Qatar's commitment to the principles of the World Heritage Convention and expressed hope for continued collaboration with international partners to safeguard shared heritage for future generations.