During the event organized in this capital until July 16, the representation of the island highlighted recent milestones such as the adoption by the National Assembly of the General Law for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage, a standard that strengthens sustainable management for heritage professionals and communities.

He also mentioned the progress made in preparing the dossier on the Cuban Caribbean Reef System, which covers marine ecosystems of high biodiversity, threatened by rising sea levels and coral bleaching.

The Cuban delegation to Session 47 is composed of the Vice-President of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, Nilson Acosta, the deputy director of Science, Technology and Innovation of the National Center for Protected Areas, Aylem Hernández, and Laura Álvarez, Third Secretary of the island’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO.

The World Heritage Committee, a body made up of 21 States parties to the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, will review during the meeting 30 new nominations and the level of conservation of 248 sites already enrolled, 56 of them in danger.

Cuba reaffirmed its commitment to the principles of the Convention adopted in 1972 and recalled that small island developing states receive special attention at UNESCO for the implementation of the multilateral instrument.

It also called for solidarity and the cessation of policies and actions that threaten the universal heritage and hinder the activities of countries in its safeguarding.

In this regard, the delegation of the island denounced at UNESCO the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than 60 years and the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave destroyed and blocked, and Iran.

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