World Heritage Committee meets in September to inscribe new sites on the World Heritage List

Accreditation process

Journalists wishing to cover the Committee (in person) are required to apply for accreditation before Friday 25 August, by sending an email with their name and the name of their media outlet to:

• information@45whcriyadh2023.com

• CCing t.mallard@unesco.org and l.iglesias@unesco.org.

The Committee will also be broadcast via livestream will be available here.

On 11 September (13:00 local time in Riyadh), UNESCO and Saudi authorities will hold a press conference, which will be broadcast online.

The Committee will examine the state of conservation of 260 sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List, 55 of which are also on the List of World Heritage in Danger. 

From 16 September, the World Heritage Committee will begin examining the nominations of sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List, starting with the nominations that could not be examined last year.

The 50 candidate sites are :

2022 Nominations

Natural sites 

• Azerbaijan / Iran (Islamic Republic of), Hyrcanian Forests [extension of Hyrcanian Forest, inscribed by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2019]

• Congo, Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua

• France, Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique 

• Madagascar, Andrefana Dry Forests [extension of “Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve”, inscribed in 1990]

• Viet Nam, Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago [extension of “Ha Long Bay”, inscribed in 1994 and extended in 2000]

Cultural sites 

• Benin, Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba [extension of “Koutammakou, the Land of Batammariba” inscribed by Togo in 2004]

• Cambodia, Koh Ker: Archeological Site of Ancient Lingapura or Chok Gargyar

• Canada, Tr’ondëk-Klondike

• China, Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er

• Czechia, Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops

• Denmark, Viking-Age Ring Fortresses

• Ethiopia, The Gedeo cultural landscape 

• Germany, Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt

• Guatemala, National Archeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj

• India, Santiniketan

• Iran (Islamic Republic of), The Persian Caravanserai 

• Latvia, Kuldīga / Goldingen in Courland

• Lithuania, Modernist Kaunas: Architecture of Optimism, 1919-1939

• Mongolia, Deer Stone Monuments and Related Sites of Bronze Age 

• Republic of Korea, Gaya Tumuli

• Russsian Federation, Historic center of Gorokhovets

• Spain, Talayotic Menorca – A cyclopean island odyssey 

• Tajikistan / Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan, Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor 

• Türkiye, Gordion

2023 Nominations

Natural sites 

• Canada, Anticosti

• Ethiopia, Bale Mountains National Park 

• Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan – Cold Winter Deserts of Turan 

• Rwanda, Nyungwe National Park 

• Saudi Arabia, ‘Uruq Bani Ma’arid

• Tajikistan, Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve 

Cultural sites 

• Argentina, ESMA Museum and Site of Memory – Former Clandestine Center of Detention, Torture and Extermination 

• Azerbaijan, Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route

• Belgium, France, Funerary and memorial sites of the First World War (Western Front) 

• France, Maison Carrée de Nîmes 

• India, Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas

• Indonesia, The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks

• Iran (Islamic Republic of), The Cultural Landscape of Masouleh

• Netherlands, Koninklijk Eise Eisinga Planetarium (Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium) 

• Palestine, Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan

• Portugal, Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone [extension of “Historic Centre of Guimarães”, inscribed in 2001]

• Russian Federation, Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University

• Rwanda, Memorial Sites of Genocide: Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero

• Suriname, Jodensavanne Archeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery 

• Thailand, The Ancient Town of Si Thep

• Tunisia, Djerba: cultural landscape, testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory 

• Türkiye, Medieval Mosques of Anatolia with Wooden Posts and Upper Structure 

• United States of America, Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks

Mixed sites 

• Greece, Zagori Cultural Landscape 

• Mongolia, Highlands of the Mongolian Altai

To date, the World Heritage Committee has inscribed 1,157 sites in 167 countries on the World Heritage List. Composed of representatives from 21 States Parties that have ratified the World Heritage Convention, the Committee is responsible for implementing the Convention.