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RTT News (United States)
July 3, 2012 Tuesday
US "disappointed" By Listing Of Church Of The Nativity As World Heritage Site
(RTTNews) - The United States has expressed "profound disappointment"
over the decision of the World Heritage Commission to take immediate,
emergency action to inscribe the Church of the Nativity as a World
Heritage Site.
Responding to a question at the Daily Press Briefing on Monday, US
State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the decision was
taken "against the official recommendation of the International
Council of Monuments and Sites, the expert body that evaluated the
site, and without any input from the folks who administer the site
now: the Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox
authorities." Being the custodians of the site, they should have been
properly consulted, Nuland said, adding that Washington does "have
concerns about what is happening in UNESCO and this case in
particular."
Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in the Palestinian
region of Bethlehem, the Birthplace of Jesus Christ, was added to
UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger during the 36th session of
the World Heritage Committee meeting being held in the Russian city of
St. Petersburg.
Nuland termed it as "a political move rather than a well thought-out
move." She cited that this emergency procedure in the World Heritage
Committee has only been used four times in the past, in extreme cases
when the site in question was under threat of being torn down. "That
was not the case here," she told reporters, questioning "doing it this
way, this fast, without consulting the appropriate authorities."
"We wanted to see this handled properly, which would have included
taking the advice of the expert advisory body that evaluated the site
and talking to the folks who administer the site," Nuland added.
July 3, 2012 Tuesday
US "disappointed" By Listing Of Church Of The Nativity As World Heritage Site
(RTTNews) - The United States has expressed "profound disappointment"
over the decision of the World Heritage Commission to take immediate,
emergency action to inscribe the Church of the Nativity as a World
Heritage Site.
Responding to a question at the Daily Press Briefing on Monday, US
State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the decision was
taken "against the official recommendation of the International
Council of Monuments and Sites, the expert body that evaluated the
site, and without any input from the folks who administer the site
now: the Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox
authorities." Being the custodians of the site, they should have been
properly consulted, Nuland said, adding that Washington does "have
concerns about what is happening in UNESCO and this case in
particular."
Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in the Palestinian
region of Bethlehem, the Birthplace of Jesus Christ, was added to
UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger during the 36th session of
the World Heritage Committee meeting being held in the Russian city of
St. Petersburg.
Nuland termed it as "a political move rather than a well thought-out
move." She cited that this emergency procedure in the World Heritage
Committee has only been used four times in the past, in extreme cases
when the site in question was under threat of being torn down. "That
was not the case here," she told reporters, questioning "doing it this
way, this fast, without consulting the appropriate authorities."
"We wanted to see this handled properly, which would have included
taking the advice of the expert advisory body that evaluated the site
and talking to the folks who administer the site," Nuland added.