Estonia Chosen as Member of UNESCO World Heritage Committee
27.10.2009
Estonia has been chosen to be a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by the General Assembly of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, which includes 186 countries.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that Estonia wishes to have increasingly more participation in discussions in the UN and its sub-organisations. “Estonia’s priorities in UNESCO are tied to appreciating and protecting the world’s physical and spiritual heritage. Becoming a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee gives us a very good opportunity to do this,” stated Paet.
The primary responsibility of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is to ensure the preservation of the world’s cultural and natural heritage. Estonia will participate in the work of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for four years with an expert group, which will be led by Academy of Arts professor Mart Kalm and Urve Sinijärv of the Ministry of the Environment.
Estonia was chosen out of 30 candidates along with 10 other new members as part of the rotation made every two years in the 21-member committee.
Estonia’s candidacy was organised by the Foreign Ministry and the Estonian embassies, the Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of the Environment, and the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO.
The General Assembly of the countries belonging to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is taking place in Paris from 23-28 October.
