The World Heritage Committee wrapped up its 48th session in Busan, Republic of Korea, with the addition of 25 new sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
All inscriptions during the session were adopted by consensus, reflecting the cooperative spirit that underpins the 1972 World Heritage Convention. This session also marks the first-ever inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage List for three African countries – Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe and South Sudan – showcasing the Organization’s commitment to a more balanced and representative List. The Committee also added six sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing both the sites’ outstanding value and the need to protect them.
With these new inscriptions, the UNESCO World Heritage List now comprises 1,273 sites across 173 countries. These newly inscribed properties now benefit from the highest level of international recognition and protection. The full list of inscribed sites is available <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/world-heritage/committee-2026?hub=701″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>here.
Building on dialogue and consensus, the Committee inscribed 25 new properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List (19 cultural sites, five natural ones and one mixed); and approved the extension of two already inscribed sites – including one in the host country, the Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats (Phase II). The Committee also agreed on the renomination, of the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, meaning the value of the site already inscribed revealed new criteria and the Committee proceeded to re-examine it.
This session also marks the first World Heritage inscriptions for three African countries, including two Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Comoros and São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as South Sudan. The President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, attended the session to celebrate his country’s first inscription on the World Heritage List, underscoring the historic significance of this milestone. Following these inscriptions, the number of States Parties without a World Heritage property decreased from 26 to 23.
With 196 States Parties, the World Heritage Convention is one of the most universally ratified in the world – proof of its influence and popularity across every corner of the globe. The session was marked by an exceptional spirit of dialogue, enabling the Committee to adopt all inscription decisions by consensus and fostering a renewed culture of consensus across its work, including on State of Conservation reports.
Three of these newly inscribed sites were submitted on an emergency basis: Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape (South Sudan), Mount Amel Castles (Lebanon) and Sebastia (State of Palestine). The use of this mechanism for three sites in a single session underscores the growing number of heritage properties under threat in regions affected by conflict and instability, and reflects the Committee’s determination to extend international protection and recognition before it is too late.
Sites inscribed on an emergency basis were inscribed at the same time on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in addition to three other properties – Historic Inner City of Paramaribo (Suriname), An Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora (Ukraine) and Tyre (Lebanon). They will now have access to technical and financial assistance to protect the site and will benefit from stronger support for conservation efforts from the international community.
The World Heritage Committee also decided to remove Historic Centre of Vienna (Austria) from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
This Committee session also marks a historic milestone for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with the adoption in Busan of the World Heritage Strategy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 2026-2034, backed by a budget of US$13 million. The Strategy aims to strengthen the capacity of SIDS to identify, protect and manage World Heritage sites, while addressing the specific challenges these States face – particularly the impacts of climate change.
Complementing the World Heritage Strategy for Africa, this new Strategy will help provide tailored support to all SIDS while making heritage a driver of sustainable development, climate resilience and inclusion, placing local communities at the heart of its protection, management and transmission. This achievement reflects the sustained efforts undertaken by UNESCO and its partners to make the World Heritage List more representative and to ensure that it better reflects the world’s rich cultural and natural diversity.
Since 2023, the World Heritage List includes “sites of memory” to recognize events that a country and its people and communities wish to memorialize. Today, these Sites of Memory are places of reconciliation, contemplation and peaceful reflection. During this Committee session, the Beaches of the D-Day Landings, Normandy, 1944 (France) joined the World Heritage list as sites of memory, honouring the remembrance of the Allied landings of 6 June 1944.
Main Image: © World Heritage Promotion Team of Korean Tidal Flat
