23 Jun 2014

African ministers have complained of inadequate representation of African states in the world heritage committee.

Speaking at the third African Ministers Roundtable on World Heritage in Africa, the ministers expressed their displeasure at the meeting that was held alongside the ongoing world heritage committee.

The minister of culture in Senegal, Mr Abdoul Mbaye emphasised in his presentation that there was need for this 21-member committee to be balanced.

His views were also echoed by the minister of culture and tourism of Ethiopia, Mr Amin Abdulkadir who felt that with 54 countries, African countries deserved fair representation in the committee.

The world heritage committee had representation from 21 nations including only two from Africa, namely Algeria and Senegal. Abdulkadir also called for heritage sites to be managed in such a way that they benefitted communities living in and around them.

United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Oorganisation’s (UNESCO) director general, Ms Irina Bokova said it was unfortunate that Africa had such minimal representation in the committee. She however advised African countries to work together to get their message across.

Another issue that came up was the need to balance conservation with economic development needs. Secretary of State from the Ministry of Culture of Angola, Mr Cornelio Caley highlighted that preserving heritage and culture could help in economic development by bringing in revenue from tourism generated heritage monuments and sites.

This was the third African ministers’ roundtable discussion on world heritage in Africa at the 38^th world heritage committee meeting. ENDS