Overview
- The World Heritage Committee at its Busan session formally placed six properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger and used emergency inscription for three sites facing imminent threats.
- The three emergency inscriptions are Sebastia in the occupied West Bank, the Mount Amel Castles in southern Lebanon, and the Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape in South Sudan because of plans for expropriation and park creation, active conflict and heavy damage, and poaching and infrastructure pressures respectively.
- Three previously recognized sites were also added to the danger list: the Ancient City of Taurica Chersonese in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Historic Inner City of Paramaribo in Suriname, and the city of Tyre in Lebanon, each cited for construction, occupation, or hostilities that threaten their values.
- Israel’s government formally objected to the Middle East inscriptions and called the moves political, while Palestinian and Lebanese officials welcomed the listings as a way to attract protection and conserve local heritage and livelihoods.
- UNESCO said the danger listings trigger international monitoring, technical help, and donor attention but do not alter legal sovereignty or automatically halt state land actions or military operations, leaving on-the-ground protection dependent on follow-up cooperation and funding.