Egypt's four year membership of the UNESCO committee expired

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

During the eighteenth session of the General Assembly the World Heritage Convention, which took place during the General Conference of UNESCO from 7- 9 November, Egypt and Jordan concluded their four-year-long membership of the World Heritage Committee (WHC). Algeria and Qatar, meanwhile, have taken become members.

This piece of news has created brouhaha in public opinion in Egypt, as many wrongly thought that Egypt was removed from the Committee for its deficiency in protecting its heritage.

“This is totally wrong,” said Mustafa Amin, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). He told Ahram Online that, in fact, Egypt and Jordan ended their membership according to UNESCO’s convention and not because of their inefficiency in protecting their heritage sites.