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UNESCO inscribes Odessa’s historic center on World Heritage List

It also notes that under the terms of the World Heritage Convention, the 194 countries that approved it "commit not to undertake any deliberate step that may directly or indirectly damage the World Heritage site and to assist in its protection"

PARIS, January 25. /TASS/. The historic center of Odessa has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the press service of the international organization reported on Wednesday.

"The World Heritage Committee on Wednesday decided to inscribe the Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine) on the World Heritage List. This decision recognizes the outstanding universal value of the site and the duty of all humanity to protect it," its statement said.

It also notes that under the terms of the World Heritage Convention, the 194 countries that approved it "commit not to undertake any deliberate step that may directly or indirectly damage the World Heritage site and to assist in its protection." Additionally, this new status gives Kiev the opportunity to request "reinforced technical and financial international assistance" in order "to ensure the protection of the property and, if necessary, assist in its rehabilitation."

The application to include Odessa in the list was submitted by the Kiev regime as recently as October 2022 but the decision was fast-tracked due to the ongoing conflict on Ukrainian soil. The organization notes that such practice is provided for in the Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention, additionally, a preliminary procedure was launched back in the summer of 2022 with Italy’s and Greece’s support.

According to the statement, "in recent months, in parallel with the process of inscribing the Historic Centre of Odesa on the World Heritage List, UNESCO implemented emergency measures on the ground to help protect the site." It is specified that the organization participated in repairing the damage to the Odessa Museum of Fine Arts and the Odessa Museum of Modern Art. UNESCO also provided equipment to digitize almost 1,000 works of art and the collection of documents of Odessa State Archives. It has also delivered equipment to protect the buildings as well as works of art located outdoors.

"These measures are part of UNESCO's overall action plan in Ukraine, which has already mobilized more than $18 million for education, science, culture and information," the organization concluded.

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