Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday welcomed UNESCO’s decision to add the Mount Amel Castles in southern Lebanon to its List of World Heritage in Danger.
The listing was “international recognition of the exceptional value of this civilisational heritage, which embodies centuries of southern Lebanon’s history and forms an integral part of humanity’s collective heritage”, Aoun said during a meeting with UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany at the presidential palace in Baabda.
Aoun praised Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh, Lebanon’s diplomatic mission to UNESCO and member states of the World Heritage Committee for supporting the move, despite what he described as pressure to block the application, MENA reported.
He said the decision reflected growing international awareness of the risks facing Lebanon’s cultural heritage as a result of repeated Israeli attacks in the south.
The listing placed an increased responsibility on the international community to protect and preserve the sites, Aoun said, urging the activation of protection and funding mechanisms available under the UNESCO designation.
The five castles are Beaufort Castle, known in Arabic as Shaqif; Tebnine Castle; Chaqra Castle; Deir Kifa Castle; and Shamaa Castle.
El-Enany, who recently assumed his post, thanked Aoun for Lebanon’s support and highlighted the work of UNESCO’s regional office in Beirut, which employs about 30 specialists in areas including the preservation of cultural, artistic and literary heritage.
He also outlined projects he plans to pursue during his tenure and invited Aoun to visit UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
At the end of the meeting, El-Enany handed Aoun the official certificate confirming the castles’ inclusion on the endangered World Heritage list.
