UNESCO adds 25 heritage sites including Japan’s ancient capitals and Normandy beaches
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee concluded its South Korea session by designating 25 new heritage sites, expanding the global register to 1,273 properties.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee concluded its first-ever session hosted in South Korea on Wednesday, inscribing 25 new sites to the global heritage register following a 10-day meeting in Busan.
According to Yonhap, the 48th committee session at the BEXCO convention centre brought the total number of World Heritage properties to 1,273 across 173 countries. Among the newly designated sites were Japan's "Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan's Ancient Capitals and Related Properties," a collection of ruins from Japan's Asuka period, and France's "Beaches of the D-Day Landings, Normandy, 1944," which encompasses the landing sites where Allied forces launched operations during World War II.
South Korea also secured an expansion of its existing "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats" heritage site, inscribed in 2021, to include additional tidal flat areas along the western and southern coasts. Two other sites saw their boundaries extended, whilst one underwent a change in criteria during the session.
The committee reviewed the conservation status of 148 properties, placing six on the List of World Heritage in Danger, including Lebanon's ancient port city of Tyre and the historic inner city of Paramaribo in Suriname, both facing threats to their integrity. A contentious decision saw delegates vote to remove Vienna's historic centre from the endangered list after prolonged discussions about balancing urban development with heritage preservation, a move that drew criticism from heritage experts and some delegations.
Discussions also addressed representation gaps for African nations and Small Island Developing States, a group of island nations particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Lee Byong-hyun, who chaired the session, said the committee had demonstrated unified commitment to protecting humanity's heritage despite differing viewpoints.
Turkey will host the next World Heritage Committee session in Istanbul, with Armenia, Grenada, Vietnam, Tanzania and Kuwait elected as vice-chairs. Turkey previously hosted the 40th meeting in 2016, though that session was disrupted by a military coup attempt before being resumed at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
