The Russian Alexander Kuznetsov who directed this body decided to leave his duties, according to information from the “world”, to the great relief of Westerners.
by Philippe Ricard
The news is enough to relieve Westerners, and should put an end to the paralysis of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee triggered by the war in Ukraine. The president of this body, Russian Alexander Kuznetsov, decided, according to our information, to leave this function. After months of uncertainty, the diplomat announced his withdrawal, Tuesday, November 22, in a letter sent to the members of the World Heritage Committee. Officially, his decision would be motivated by his next retirement, even if Mr. Kuznetsov would have had the possibility, in normal times, to stay at his post.
This rather unexpected departure occurs while the body responsible for registering the most remarkable architectural or natural sites on the planet on the World Heritage List is blocked by the tensions generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture had to resolve, in April, to postpone Sine Die the annual meeting of this committee, initially scheduled for June in the Russian city of Kazan.
diplomatically isolate Moscow
A month after the beginnings of the invasion, the decision had been taken after long negotiations, which reflected, as in other bodies of the United Nations, the difficulty that Westerners have to diplomatically isolate Moscow, subjected by elsewhere to massive sanctions. More than forty states, including France and the United Kingdom, had threatened to boycott the session, against the opinion of capital who refuses to take sides, since the start of the conflict, between Ukraine and Russia .
Ironically, it is one of these countries, Saudi Arabia, which should now be in a position to provide the presidency of the committee. The members of it will then be able to meet in an extraordinary session in order to organize, failing to have been able to meet in Kazan, their next annual meeting, in 2023, either on Saudi territory or at the UNESCO headquarters, in Paris, either in a third country.
One of the committee’s priorities will be to decide to classify the downtown Odessa downtown World Heritage. Since the outbreak of hostilities, the port city, located near the front line, has been the subject of regular bombing. His application file was submitted in October. Seven other Ukrainian sites are already listed as World Heritage of Humanity, including the Holy Sophie Cathedral of kyiv. None of them, we are delighted with UNESCO, would have been damaged by the conflict, unlike many museums, or monuments targeted by the Russian forces.