| Summary: |
In November 2007, UNESCO and the Chairperson of the World Heritage
Committee regretted the decision of a German court to authorize the
construction of a bridge likely to lead to the deletion of the cultural
landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from the World Heritage
List. The status of the property on UNESCO's World Heritage List will
be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee at its next meeting in
Quebec, Canada, in July 2008.
The mission team of UNESCO and ICOMOS experts will meet with local
and national authorities and review current developments at the
Dresden Elbe Valley assessing specifically the impact of the construction
of the bridge on the Outstanding Universal Value of the site. This
mission, scheduled for February 4-5, is being carried out under
the reinforced monitoring mechanism applied for the first time in
2007 to Jerusalem, sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Dresden. On the basis of the mission's findings, as well as
the review of additional documents and a report to the World Heritage
Committee, the Committee will take a decision on whether or not
the property should be deleted from the World Heritage List.
UNESCO had highlighted in its previous statement that "Removing
properties from the World Heritage List is never a satisfactory
solution as UNESCO's World Heritage Convention and World Heritage
List have been created to ensure the preservation and enhancement
of our shared heritage. UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee
consider their role in this regard to consist of enriching the world's
treasured heritage, not impoverishing it."
It is hoped that the mission's visit enhances further the continuous
dialogue with local and national authorities to find a solution
to avoid the removal of the exceptional site from the World Heritage
List.
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