Republic of Turkey elected member of World Heritage Committee

Turkey has been elected as a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the Turkish culture and tourism minister said on Wednesday.

Announcing the development as “good news” on X, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said: “Our country became a member of the committee with the vote held at the 24th General Assembly of States Parties session held today in Paris, the capital of France.”

During its 4-year membership, Türkiye will have a say in the decision-making process for the World Heritage list at the meetings of the World Heritage Committee, which is the executive body of the World Heritage Convention and meets once a year, he added.

Our country was in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee from 1983-1989 and 2013-2017 as well, Ersoy said.

The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from states, according to its website. It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage list.

It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks countries to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the list of World Heritage in danger.