What is the Selection Process?

Nomination, assessment and inscription of a property to the World Heritage List involves extensive international evaluation after a government has made a list of potential properties.

1. The nomination process begins when the government selects a property from this list and sends documentation supporting the property’s nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre for review.
2. The World Heritage Centre has the nomination assessed by impartial, non-governmental advisory bodies and relevant scientific and technical experts. These include the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
3. The World Heritage Committee meets once a year to consider the advisory bodies’ recommendations and determines whether the nominated property will be inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The committee may defer its decision or ask for more information about a nominated property. Not every nominated property makes it to the list.