Space Education and Strategic Applications Journal
an international convention on world heritage — a convention that builds and strengthens what the Honorable Russell E . Train , who has been called a “ founding father of the World Heritage Convention ,” 38 identified as “ a sense of kinship with one another as part of a single , global community .” 39 Formally titled the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage , 40 the Convention was adopted on November 16 , 1972 . With 194 States Parties , it ranks as one of the most-ratified international treaties . 41 That means nearly every nation on Earth agrees “ that deterioration or disappearance of any item of the cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful impoverishment of the heritage of all the nations of the world ... 42 and that collective effort must be undertaken to protect cultural heritage of “ outstanding universal value .” 43
The World Heritage Convention defines cultural heritage as , among other things , “ works of [ hu ] man or the combined works of nature and [ hu ] man , and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical , aesthetic , ethnological or anthropological point of view .” 44 Outstanding universal value is further defined as having significance “ which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity . As such , the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole .” 45
The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention 46 ( Heritage Guidelines ) provide even more specific guidance . In order to be considered to have Outstanding Universal Value , the site or property must meet on or more of ten specific criteria including :
( i ) represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
( ii ) exhibit an important interchange of human values , over a span of time or within a
40 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage , Nov . 16 , 1972 , 27 U . S . T . 37 , 1037 U . N . T . S . 151 [ hereinafter World Heritage Convention ].
45 Operation Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention , ¶ 49 ( July 10 , 2019 ).
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