On Wednesday, Morocco elected Professor Azeddine Kara as the Deputy Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Council for the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, during the 16th council meeting held alongside the tenth session of the States Parties to the convention.
The advisory council, considered a technical body that provides guidance to the Conference of States Parties, consists of 14 international experts whose tasks range from evaluating countries’ compliance with the convention’s provisions, enhancing capacities, and developing national action plans, to overseeing the implementation of the convention’s requirements for preserving underwater cultural heritage.
Professor Azeddine Kara is recognized as one of the leading international experts in this field. He has served as Morocco’s focal point for UNESCO regarding underwater cultural heritage since 2013 and previously chaired the council in 2017, reflecting his academic and diplomatic prominence as well as his internationally acknowledged status.
This election underscores Morocco’s ongoing efforts to protect human cultural heritage and affirms its strong commitment to preserving submerged cultural heritage. It also enhances Morocco’s positioning within international frameworks specialized in heritage, especially in light of the increasing challenges faced by this type of heritage due to climate change and maritime activities.
Furthermore, this achievement reflects the international community’s confidence in Moroccan expertise and its ability to contribute to the formulation and implementation of international policies for the protection of cultural heritage that constitutes humanity’s memory beneath the water’s surface.
