The 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) was held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan, South Korea, under the chairmanship of Lee Byong Hyun. During the session, 25 new sites were inscribed, bringing the total number of UNESCO World Heritage (WH) sites to 1,273 across 173 countries.
This session marked the first-ever WH inscriptions for three African nations: Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Sudan. The Centre of Vienna (Austria) was removed from the list of World Heritage in Danger, while Mount Amel Castles (Lebanon) and Sebastia (State of Palestine) were included on an emergency basis.
The “Busan Declaration on World Heritage” was adopted to protect vulnerable assets. It introduced “collaboration” as the 6th “C” of the strategic objectives, joining the existing five: conservation, credibility, capacity-building, communication, and communities.
The committee adopted the “World Heritage Strategy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 2026-2034,” a roadmap supported by a $13 million budget. It is to be noted that the 49th session of the UNESCO WHC will be held in Istanbul, Turkiye, under the presidency of Mustafa Yurdakul.
