The historic center of the port city of Odessa, in southern Ukraine, was declared a World Heritage Site on Wednesday, in recognition of its universal value and humanity’s duty to protect it from the threat of destruction.
The decision, taken by the World Heritage Committee, outlines the main features Odessa as a “free city, a world city, a legendary port that has characterized cinema, literature and art and is thus under the enhanced protection of the international community”.
In light of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 last year, this inscription shows the Committee’s collective determination to be saved “from further destruction,” UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay, quoted in a statement from the organization.
Under the terms of the World Heritage Convention, the 194 States Parties to the Convention undertake not to take any deliberate action that could cause direct or indirect damage to the World Heritage Site and to contribute to its protection.
By being inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the The historic center of Odessa will be entitled to increased international technical and financial assistance, which Ukraine can request “to ensure the protection of its heritage and, if necessary, assist in its rehabilitation”.
“In light of threats to the city since the beginning of the war, the World Heritage Committee used an emergency procedure provided for in the operational guidelines of the World Heritage Convention,” the document said.
Ukrainian and international experts, with the support of Italy and Greece, collaborated with the UN Agency for International Cooperation in the Arts and Culture, UNESCO, to prepare this inscription, whose candidacy was made official in October by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
In recent months, UNESCO revealed, emergency measures have been taken on the ground to help protect the city and have helped repair the damage done to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Modern Art since the beginning of the war.
“The organization also provided equipment for the digitization of about a thousand works of art and the documentary collection of the Odessa State Archives. Equipment was also provided to protect the buildings, as well as the open-air works of art,” the document continues, showing that these measures are part of a global action plan by UNESCO in Ukraine, worth €16 million for education, science, culture and information.
Russian troops did not reach this city in the south of Ukraine, although fighting continued several tens of kilometers away.
However, the town and its bathing area were the target of air raids and, despite an apparent normalcy, air raid sirens often sound.
The port of Odessa, the main outlet for products from Ukraine, namely grains and fertilizers, was blocked for months by Russian fleets in the Black Sea, a situation that was only resolved in August thanks to an agreement between the authorities of Kiev, Moscow, Ankara and the United Nations.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people — 6.5 million internally displaced persons and nearly eight million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 7,068 dead civilians and 11,415 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are far below the actual ones.
Source: DN
