Kazakhstan has been elected to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the term 2023-2027, with 118 member states voting in favor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan announced.
Alongside Kazakhstan, eight other new members joined the committee: Vietnam, Kenya, Lebanon, the Republic of Korea, Senegal, Turkey, Ukraine, and Jamaica.
The election of Kazakhstan to the UNESCO Committee is considered a significant recognition of Kazakhstan's contributions to the preservation of World Heritage. Erlan Karin, State Advisor to the President of Kazakhstan, sees this election as "evidence of international recognition of active work in preserving Kazakhstan's unique cultural and natural heritage."
The Committee comprises representatives from 21 countries who make decisions on the inclusion of cultural and natural sites in the World Heritage List. Committee members also assess the conservation status of these sites and support the efforts of the countries parties to the Convention in protecting these sites for future generations.
Kazakhstan has six national and transboundary sites listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, including the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Tamgaly petroglyphs, Saryarka – Steppes and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, the network of the Silk Roads: the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, the Western Tien-Shan, and the deserts of the Turan eco-region.
Earlier, UNESCO decided to elevate the status of the UNESCO office in Almaty to a Multisectoral Regional Office, covering not only the countries of Central Asia but also Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.
In the summer of 2023, during a visit to Kazakhstan, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay presented certificates to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for including the "Buiratau" and "Markakol" reserves in the specially protected natural territories list and for recognizing the "Orteke" musical and puppet art as part of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage.
In 2020, UNESCO added the Kazakh traditional board game "toguz kumalak" to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
November 23, 2023