Thu, 21 Nov, 2013 05:30:03 AM FTimes Report, November 21
Finland was elected a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for four years in an election held in Paris on November 19, said a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Wednesday.
The election was attended by the state parties to the World Heritage Convention which comprise 190 countries.
Twelve members, elected to the committee are Philippines, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Croatia, Lebanon, Peru, Portugal, Poland, Finland, Turkey and Vietnam.
Finland announced its candidature in December 2012 and had been campaigning actively for the membership ever since.
“I am very glad that our efforts brought such good results. The election of the World Heritage Committee is one of the most highly esteemed elections within the UN system where also the competition for the seats is among the fiercest,” said Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.
In future, Finland would be represented by Juhani Kostet, director general of the National Board of Antiquities, and Rauno Väisänen, director of the Natural Heritage Services at Metsähallitus.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will also participate in the committee’s functions, said the release.
One of the main tasks of the World Heritage Committee is to decide which new cultural and natural properties are to be inscribed into the World Heritage List each year and to monitor the state of the World Heritage Sites.
There are currently approximately 1,000 properties on the list, and some 25 new sites are entered each year.
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