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39th session of World Heritage Committee opens amidst continued threats to Iraq's heritage
The situation of cultural heritage in Iraq will be one of the recurrent issues of the discussions of the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee that will be opened this evening with a ceremony at the World Conference Center in Bonn, Germany.
Iraq鈥檚 Minister for Tourism and Antiquities, Adel Shershab is expected in Bonn tomorrow to attend the launch of the global coalition for the protection of cultural heritage 鈥鈥 with the participation of the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, and Committee Chair Maria B枚hmer.
The committee will also discuss the inscription of Hatra in the List of World Heritage in Danger, which includes World Heritage properties under great threat. After Ashur and Samarra Archaeological City, which were inscribed in the Danger List 2003 and 2007, Hatra would become Iraq鈥檚 third world heritage property flagged as particularly threatened. Iraq鈥檚 fourth property, Erbil Citadel, was inscribed in the World Heritage List last year.
