The 3,000 representatives of the 196 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention were joined by representatives of international organisations and heritage experts to begin the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan on July 19 and will continue through July 29, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reported on July 20. 

It will examine 30 new nominations for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List and 147 State of Conservation reports for properties already on the list. 

Kazakhstan is participating in the session as a member of the World Heritage Committee. The Rock Mosques of Mangystau and Associated Sacred Sites is one of the nominees for consideration. 

The nomination is carried out in accordance with the decision of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, made at the 2024 National Kurultai in Atyrau, to start the work on applying Mangystau’s underground mosques for UNESCO World Heritage status, said State Counsellor Erlan Karin. 

Karin explained that since then, a lot of work has been done to build the dossier for nomination, which includes scientific studies, legal and institutional documentation. An assessment mission was carried out in Kazakhstan last year, and the country has been evaluated by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) recently. 

The decision may be taken at the current committee session and is considered an important step in the preservation of cultural heritage in Kazakhstan.