The Minister of Youth and Culture, the Hon. Lisa Hanna, is today noting the significant strides made by Jamaica in World Heritage, as the country joins the world in observing World Heritage Day on Saturday, April 18.
In November 2013, under the leadership of Minister Hanna and for the first time since the country became a signatory to the World Heritage Convention in 1983, Jamaica was elected to the World Heritage Committee (WHC). The World Heritage Committee is the body that has direct oversight of the management of World Heritage procedures and activities, including responsibility for the final decisions on the sites that are to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, those to be placed on the Endangered List and management of the World Heritage Fund. Of the 191 Countries which have ratified the Convention, the World Heritage Committee comprises only 21 States Parties. Jamaica was one of twelve States Parties elected to the Committee in 2013 and will serve a four year term which ends in 2017.