Unesco urged to move World Heritage Committee session from Russia

The 45th annual meeting, to be chaired by the Russian Federation, is scheduled to take place from June 19 to 30

Unesco is being called upon to relocate its next World Heritage Committee session from Kazan, above, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

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Unesco is under pressure to move the next session of the World Heritage Committee from Kazan, Russia.

The 45th annual meeting is scheduled to take place from June 19 to 30, chaired by the Russian Federation.

However, after the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Unesco has been called on to stop Russia from hosting the event.

See the latest photos from the Russia-Ukraine crisis below:

A Ukrainian soldier inspects a burnt Russian tank in Dmytrivka, Kyiv region. Getty Images

Ukrainians who fled to Mexico amid Russia's invasion of their homeland arrive at a shelter near the US border, in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv. AP

A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha. AP

Shrapnel marks are seen on the statue of a child after shelling that hit the Gorky amusement park, in Kharkiv. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier walks next to a military vehicle, outside Kyiv. AP

A man distributes toilet paper rolls as people wait for medicine and sanitary supply handouts in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine. AP

A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building, in Bucha. AP

A Ukrainian soldier check streets for booby traps after Russian troops withdrew from Bucha. AP

Graves of residents who died during the Russian invasion, in front of residential buildings in the areas recaptured by the Ukrainian army, in Kyiv. EPA

Destroyed Russian military vehicles on a street in Kyiv. EPA

A Ukrainian soldier walks by the wreckage of the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft , the world's largest cargo airplane and relic of the Soviet space programme, which was destroyed during fighting in Hostomel, Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian soldiers shout patriotic slogans with the Antonov An-225 in the background. AP

Yulia Dyrda, who sustained arm injuries from Russian shelling, recovers at a hospital in Chuhuiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

Residents stand next to a stuck Russian tank, in Nova Basan. Reuters

The mother of Lt Oliynyk Dmytro, 40, mourns his death during his funeral ceremony, after the soldier was killed in action, in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian refugees rest in the ticket hall at Przemysl Glowny train station, Poland. Reuters

A dog walks past the wreckage of a Russian armored personnel carrier, in Dmytrivka, Kyiv region. Getty Images

Ukrainians ride bicycles past destroyed cars in the town of Bucha, north-west of the capital Kyiv. Reuters

Buildings damaged by shelling in the town of Makariv, in Kyiv region. Reuters

A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in the town of Irpin outside Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a video update in which he said the situation in east of the country remained extremely difficult. Reuters

The Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, England, illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Reuters

Russian soldiers destroyed this bridge as they withdrew from a village on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

A child wrapped in a rescue emergency blanket crosses the border into Medyka, south-eastern Poland. AP Photo

Flowers lay on a Ukrainian armoured vehicle destroyed during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

Damaged houses and a burnt-out Russian armoured vehicle on the outskirts of Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian soldier Dasha, 22, checks her phone after a military sweep to search for Russian troops after their withdrawal from villages in the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

Ammunition scattered on the ground next to a Ukrainian armoured car destroyed in fighting outside Kyiv. AP Photo

Nadine Dorries, Culture Minister of the UK, said the country would not be attending the meeting if it is hosted in Kazan, a city in south-west Russia that is the capital of semi-autonomous region the Republic of Tatarstan.

Europa Nostra, an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding Europe’s culture and heritage, said the Russian Federation “must withdraw as chair of this year’s World Heritage Committee” following “deliberate attacks by Russia’s army which violate the provisions both of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and of the 1972 Unesco World Heritage Convention”.

More than 35 academics and arts professionals from across the globe have signed a letter addressed to the World Heritage Committee members, stating that it is “unacceptable to organise the committee meeting in Russia”, according to The Art Newspaper.

“Planning a discussion on World Heritage in Russia sounds like a mockery of innocent Ukrainian victims,” The Auschwitz Memorial, an organisation that conserves the site of the Nazi concentration camp in Poland, tweeted.

There is no sign that Unesco plans to relocate the meeting, however.

Last month, the UN agency called for the protection of cultural heritage in Ukraine, saying it was “gravely concerned” about the damage caused by the Russian invasion.

“We must safeguard this cultural heritage, as a testimony of the past but also as a vector of peace for the future, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations,” Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay said.

A spokeswoman for Unesco told The Art Newspaper that the World Heritage Committee decides on when and where its next meeting takes place during its annual sessions.

“The decision by the member states of the World Heritage Committee to hold the 45th session of the Committee in Kazan was taken at the 44th session of the Committee in July 2021 following the invitation by the Russian Federation,” the spokeswoman said. "A change of location of the 45th session can be decided at this stage by the member states of the World Heritage Committee in the governance bodies dedicated to this committee.”

The committee comprises 21 member states, elected from the 194 countries that have ratified the World Heritage Convention. The members states, as yet, have not formally requested the session’s relocation.

An extraordinary vote must be held at the request of at least 14 of the committee members for the meeting to be moved. The decision can also be taken by the committee’s Bureau.

The annually elected Bureau comprises seven member states.

It is currently chaired by Russia.