The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Riyadh until September 25, has decided to remove the site of the Tombs of the Kings of Buganda in Kasubi, Uganda, from the List of World Heritage in Danger following the successful restoration work carried out by Uganda with UNESCO support, the organization said in a press release.
In 2010, a fierce fire devastated the Tombs of the Kings of Buganda at Kasubi, which are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The site was subsequently inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, allowing for the development of an ambitious reconstruction program. The plan was led by the Ugandan authorities and implemented in close cooperation with UNESCO and with the financial support of the international community.
This reconstruction program was completed in the summer of 2023, enabling the site to reach the desired state of conservation. On Tuesday, the Member States of the World Heritage Committee confirmed that the reconstruction had been successfully implemented by taking the decision to remove the Tombs of the Kings of Buganda at Kasubi from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
At the same time, the UNESCO Committee refused to include the “Volcanoes of Kamchatka” in the list of endangered cultural heritage. This is reported by the press service of the deputy chairman of the Russian government.
Thus, most committee members, including Ethiopia, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Mali, South Africa, Oman, Rwanda, Qatar, and Zambia, noted Russia’s efforts to improve the protection status of the Kamchatka Volcanoes site.
The UNESCO World Heritage List includes 1,157 sites in 167 countries.
The purpose of the List of World Heritage in Danger is to raise awareness of the threats to the outstanding universal value of a property inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to mobilize all stakeholders to take action to save it. Inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger prompts the development of a dedicated action plan and opens the door to international financial aid.